Covid-19: announcements, measures … What to expect from the Health Defense Council this Friday?

The situation is not improving. As the number of new infections swells day by day, reaching a level not seen since April, the pressure is increasing in the hospital. As of Thursday, 15,142 Covid patients were hospitalized and 2,832 were in critical care. At the same time, the Omicron variant continues its mad race. If 59 cases have already been spotted in France, as of December 9, there could actually be many more. In an attempt to thwart the evolution of the epidemic, the Élysée announced that a Health Defense Council would be held on Friday afternoon, around 4 p.m.

According to a government source at LCI, if the situation is “worrying”, however “not expect exceptional measures on Friday” such as a curfew or a re-containment. “We are not going to prevent people this year from celebrating Christmas with their families, whereas last year we had not done so. And now we have the vaccination.” The executive also does not intend to confine 61 million French people to protect the 5.7 million unvaccinated, it would be “excessive”.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal mentioned several possible decisions on Wednesday. Among them, the strengthening of border controls. Measures have already been taken this Thursday vis-à-vis the United Kingdom, where the Omicron variant is widely circulated, with the return of the imperious motif. Are other countries going to be affected by this turn of the screw? “For now, we’re sticking to the UK”, we assure the side of the executive.

A priori, the Health Defense Council should not decide on new constraints for Christmas Eve, nor invite the French to limit the number of people at the table. “Before Christmas you can’t do anything”, assures LCI a government source. But New Year’s Eve, also conducive to major holidays, gives rise to fears of new contaminations.

Will it then be necessary to ban large gatherings for the transition to 2022? “We are not there yet. It is not a discussed option at this time.”, we are told. This new Health Defense Council should, however, make it possible to“anticipate possible measures for the after-festivities”.

The government intends above all, as usual, to insist on the importance of vaccination. The Minister of Health Olivier Véran has already mentioned several avenues including a shortening of the time to perform his booster dose. It is currently set at five months after the initial vaccination. But a lot of French people were vaccinated in July and are gradually already eligible for this booster dose, the government said. Not sure that a reduction in the timeframe will therefore be ratified as of this Friday.

One thing seems likely in any case: the government will not hurry to open vaccination every 5-11 years, although it is now accessible only to children at risk of severe form. Such a measure would essentially aim to prevent children from becoming the main vectors of the epidemic, serious cases of Covid being extremely rare in the youngest.

The government does not hide its desire to make such a decision, on the model of Israel or the United States, and has already received the green light from the National Consultative Ethics Committee this Friday morning. But he is still awaiting the opinion of other bodies: the High Authority for Health (HAS) then the Orientation Council for the vaccine strategy (COSV) shortly before Christmas, according to Olivier Véran. “We have received the doses, everything is ready on the ground”, a government source told LCI. “But we won’t announce anything until health officials give their opinion.”