As the end-of-year holidays quickly approach, a new variant of Covid-19 could come to spoil the party. Called JN.1, it is also a sub-variant of Omicron. According to the Public Health France bulletin of December 6, “the upward trend in syndromic indicators continued in cities and in hospitals, particularly among those aged 65 and over.”
This increase in the circulation of Covid was confirmed by a “sharp increase in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater”, up to 24%, the week of November 27 to December 3 compared to the previous week. , underlines Public Health France. Procedures in community medicine and for SOS Médecins for suspected Covid are also slightly increasing, as are visits to emergency rooms, which increased by 0.2% (from 1.0% to 1.2%). 1,824 hospitalizations for suspected Covid were also recorded, or 2.7% of hospitalizations (compared to 2.2% the previous week).
In total, 28,342 new cases were declared in the week of November 27, for an incidence rate of 42 per 100,000 inhabitants. This upward trend in contamination is also visible in all age groups.
Vaccination and barrier gestures
The JN.1 subvariant, from the BA.2.86 variant and which belongs to the same family as Omicron, could be the cause of this slight increase in cases, as confirmed by Public Health France. “This increase is mainly driven by JN.1, sub-lineages of BA.2.86, which represented 30% of the interpretable sequences of the Flash survey of 11/13/2023, compared to 23% for the previous one”, we can read in the bulletin.
If we must remain vigilant, “we are not expecting a big wave, there is no panic”, reassures Doctor Jean-Pierre Thierry to our colleagues at BFMTV. As until now, wearing a mask and barrier gestures remain the best ways to protect yourself from Covid-19. Just like vaccination, especially for the most vulnerable people. Currently, 23.9% of people aged 65 and over have had their last booster vaccination.