For the French, distrust of vaccines predates COVID-19

The longer Margot Morin sat at the University Hospital in Reims waiting for the COVID-19 jab, the more doubt crept in. A colleague next to her had a brief negative reaction to the vaccine, her blood pressure climbing and her fingers tingling.

“I thought, ‘Oh là là, I’m next,’” says Ms. Morin, who is a physical therapy aide in her 50s and recently qualified to get the vaccine. “I was very skeptical. The hospital asked me if I wanted to get it and I took the day to think about it. There’s so much we still don’t know about the long-term effects.”

But Ms. Morin has worked with numerous patients who later tested positive for COVID-19. Her husband

Hesitancy and hostility toward vaccines“I understand the reticence”