France: twenty new jobs added to the Covid-19 priority vaccination list

Following the conclusion of consultations on 20 April with the Ministry of Labor and the social partners, a list of some twenty private sector professions has been identified as priorities in France’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The professions include vehicle drivers, taxi and cab drivers, public transport inspectors, maintenance workers, security guards and buildings caretakers, food retail employees, funeral directors, and unskilled workers in the food industry (a complete list can be found below). Starting on the weekend of 24/25 April, and for at least two weeks, these professionals, when carrying proof of identification and occupation, can access dedicated vaccination time slots in specific centers as detailed by the regional health agencies (ARS). A total of 400,000 workers over the age of 55 years could potentially be concerned, irrespective of them carrying any underlying conditions. Employers will have to facilitate their access to these vaccinations during working hours. Two main criteria were employed for this sequencing. Firstly, because of their reliance on interaction with the public, these socio-professional categories are by their nature in greater contact with the virus. Secondly, since these jobs cannot be carried out remotely via teleworking they also entail high levels of on-site physical presence during virus surges. Three additional criteria were used for finer sequencing: (i) whether the work is carried out under closed conditions, (ii) whether the job makes compliance with the safety guidance difficult (hands|space|face), and (iii) whether the job has been identified as a ‘risk occupation’ by the Pasteur Institute study.