[ti:Unvaccinated French Health Care Workers Face Suspension] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Health care workers in France now face suspension [00:05.12]from their jobs if they have not been vaccinated [00:09.80]against COVID-19, say new rules [00:14.48]that went into effect Wednesday, September 15. [00:20.52]With as many as 300,000 workers still not vaccinated, [00:27.68]some hospitals fear employee shortages [00:31.72]will add to their difficulties. [00:35.52]Vaccines are now required for those [00:39.04]who work in medical care and home care [00:43.04]as well as for all emergency workers in France. [00:49.32]They face having pay suspended [00:52.56]or being banned from the workplace, [00:56.20]but they cannot be fired, a court ruled. [01:01.48]The court order was approved by France's parliament [01:06.28]over the summer to protect patients [01:09.92]and the public from new variants of COVID-19. [01:16.28]More than 113,000 people have died from the virus in France. [01:25.00]Health officials say most of those hospitalized [01:29.60]most recently have not been vaccinated. [01:34.88]"It's aimed at one thing: protecting hospitals, [01:39.68]protecting health care workers, protecting our fragile populations," [01:46.32]government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Wednesday. [01:52.28]"We are not stigmatizing anyone. [01:55.44]We are making everyone take responsibility." [02:00.44]Attal said more than 90 percent [02:04.00]of French health care workers are vaccinated. [02:08.88]He added that the numbers suggest most people [02:13.36]support the vaccine order for medical staff. [02:18.48]The government health division said last Tuesday [02:22.96]that about 300,000 health workers remained unvaccinated. [02:30.88]About 83 percent of French adults are fully vaccinated. [02:36.88]However, a small, vocal minority of people [02:40.40]are opposed to the coronavirus vaccines. [02:44.84]This includes some health care workers. [02:48.16]Many of those who are not vaccinated [02:50.80]seem to have based their decision [02:53.44]on untrue information they read online. [02:57.68]They worry about the long-term effects of the vaccine [03:01.32]or want more time to decide. [03:04.96]Many have refused the vaccine because they are angry at [03:09.04]President Emmanuel Macron's government and the order. [03:13.64]They say they are not afraid of the vaccine. [03:18.48]Some hospitals are already facing difficulties after a year and half [03:24.32]of fighting the pandemic and catching up on other treatments. [03:30.00]So, some fear employee shortages could mean disaster, [03:34.16]if the unvaccinated are removed from their health care jobs. [03:39.16]Christophe Prudhomme is an emergency room doctor [03:42.96]and a CGT union member, one of the largest labor unions in France. [03:49.80]He said at a protest outside the Health Ministry last Tuesday, [03:54.48]"We are raising the alarm..." [03:57.52]He said if the measure is enforced, [04:00.04]some hospitals will be forced to shut down a lot of rooms [04:04.36]due to a shortage of trained workers. [04:08.20]This would reduce the chances of survival for many patients [04:12.40]with COVID-19 and other illnesses. [04:16.48]If health care workers have had only one shot so far, [04:22.24]they have to take a virus test every three days [04:26.56]until they have completed the second one. [04:30.84]October 15 is the legal deadline for both shots to be completed. [04:38.28]Companies and employers that fail to ensure [04:42.52]their workers are vaccinated will be hit with a $160 fine [04:49.88]that can rise to $4,430 for repeated failure. [04:57.60]"I am not a revolutionary, I am just afraid, [05:03.08]and we are thousands in this situation. [05:07.84]I want them to listen to us [05:10.32]and sit and talk around a table," said Rachid Ouchem. [05:16.84]He works at a hospital near Paris, [05:20.04]and he does not want to be vaccinated. [05:24.72]He is facing suspension. [05:27.56]"We can't decide ourselves, we have doubts," [05:32.32]he told The Associated Press. [05:36.00]"We had politicians saying one thing and it's opposite." [05:42.04]Scientists note that the vaccines used in France [05:46.80]were tested widely and the information shared publicly. [05:53.24]Around the world, 5.7 billion coronavirus vaccine shots [06:00.20]have been administered so far. [06:04.04]This provides a large picture of the vaccine's effect on people's health. [06:11.32]The vaccine order and France's "health pass" system [06:15.96]required for restaurants and other public events [06:20.44]have started two months of weekly protests [06:24.12]by far-right activists and some other groups. [06:30.00]They also created an increase in vaccinations [06:34.84]through the summer, though the rate has slowed this month. [06:40.08]French Polynesia, a group of islands in the Pacific, [06:45.52]is suffering the country's worst outbreak so far. [06:50.64]France's South Pacific territory of New Caledonia [06:55.76]has ordered required vaccinations for the whole population [07:01.36]to try to avoid a similar outbreak. [07:06.00]I'm Gregory Stachel. [07:08.28]And I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM