Background information

Law no. 2021-1040 of 5 August 2021 on health crisis management introduced an obligation to vaccinate several categories of professions, including nursing staff, against COVID-19. A decree suspends the requirement for certain carers, professionals and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 from 15 May 2023. As a result, professionals previously covered by compulsory vaccination who did not get the vaccination will be able to return to service.

Content of measure

Unless there is a recognised medical contraindication, the following must be vaccinated against COVID-19 :

People working in:

• Public, private and community health establishments and army hospitals;
• Health centres
• Health centres
• Mobile centres and teams;
• Medical centres and mobile care teams in the armed forces health service;
• Support systems for coordinating complex healthcare pathways;
• Centres for the fight against tuberculosis;
• Free information, screening and diagnostic centres;
• Preventive medicine and health promotion services;
• Occupational health and prevention services and inter-company occupational health and prevention services;
• Social and medico-social establishments and services, with the exception of disabled workers supported under a contract for support and assistance through work;
• Establishments for the elderly or disabled;
• Serviced residences for the elderly or disabled;
• Inclusive housing;
• Persons not mentioned above who use the titles of psychologist, osteopath, chiropractor or psychotherapist.
• Students or pupils of establishments preparing for the practice of the professions mentioned above, as well as persons working in the same premises as the professionals mentioned above;
• Professionals employed by a private employer carrying out work in people's homes;
• Firefighters and marine firefighters working in the fire and rescue services, pilots and aircrew working for the civil security services providing care for victims, military personnel in units permanently assigned to civil security missions and members of approved civil security associations.
• Persons carrying out the aforementioned medical transport activities, as well as those providing transport on medical prescription;
• Service providers and distributors of healthcare equipment.

Suspension of the vaccination obligation on 15 May 2023

A decree published in the Official Journal on 14 May 2023 suspends the requirement for certain carers, professionals and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as set out in article 12 of the law of 5 August 2021 on health crisis management.

Use of measure

Since the introduction of compulsory vaccination, a figure of 15,000 has regularly been used to estimate the number of healthcare workers suspended. This figure dates from the end of 2021 and was only an estimate given by the Ministry of Health at the time. Today, it is difficult to find precise data. For its part, the Fédération hospitalière de France puts forward the overall figure of 4,000 suspended hospital professionals, nurses and non-nurses, out of a total of 1.2 million staff. This represents 0.3% of hospital staff in France.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Workers in care facilities Workers in essential services	Companies providing essential services	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Informed	Informed
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

It is a governmental decision with no involvement of social partners.

Views and reactions

The majority of trade unions were in favour of compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers. However, the CGT Santé has called for several demonstrations to combat the deterioration in working conditions in the healthcare sector, and to oppose compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 for healthcare professionals.

The suspension of compulsory vaccination is being contested by the French National Nurses' Union (SNPI), which believes that the opinion of the High Authority for Health "undermines its credibility and independence". In its press release, the union called for "the compulsory vaccination of healthcare workers against COVID-19" to be "maintained", and even spoke of an "ethical imperative".

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 05 August 2021: Loi n° 2021-1040 du 5 août 2021 relative à la gestion de la crise sanitaire (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)
• 02 May 2023: Instruction interministérielle n°DGOS/RH3/RH4/RH5/DGCS/2023/63 du 2 mai 2023 (sante.gouv.fr)
• 13 May 2023: Décret n° 2023-368 du 13 mai 2023 relatif à la suspension de l'obligation de vaccination contre la covid-19 des professionnels et étudiants (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)