Can I volunteer in the Covid vaccination campaign in France?

Reader question: Is it possible to volunteer to help in the vaccination campaign in France, even if you are not medically qualified?

There are no national campaigns to call on volunteers to help in vaccination centres, but some communes have been asking for assistance. The best way to find out is to contact your mairie.

For example, if you live in Paris, the association La Fabrique de la Solidarité was on the lookout for volunteers for the mairie to assist in vaccination centres, but at present they have taken on enough people and have closed sign ups.

You can check here to see if they need anyone else in the future here. You can ask if there is any similar scheme in your local town.

Unlike the UK, where charities like St John Ambulance, the Red Cross and the Royal Voluntary Service are training thousands of volunteers to help out, their equivalents in France are relying on their existing, trained members.

The Croix-Rouge told The Connexion that although they are helping out in some vaccination centres, they are not looking for new volunteers for this mission. However, the spokesperson said that anyone wishing to volunteer could check with their local branch to see if they need new members.

The French equivalent to St John’s Ambulance, the Protection Civile also told The Connexion that they are only using their ready-trained volunteers in vaccination centres.

Some hospitals have been asking for non-qualified health worker volunteers to help in a number of ways during the Covid-19 crisis, though not necessarily for vaccinations or testing.

In Paris, the Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, which manages 39 hospitals in the capital, has a website page where you can sign up to help.

They are looking for volunteers to assist in administrative tasks or patient support. You can apply here.

You can look up on your local hospital website or telephone to find out if they are looking for volunteers.

The website tousbenevoles.org has a page with charities looking for volunteers to help in relation to Covid-19.

It is a website where charities put out calls for volunteers and where you can search for posts in relation to where you live, the number of hours you can give and the type of work you are willing to do.

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