What measures will come out of the health defense council which is being held this Friday afternoon? On Wednesday afternoon, government spokesman Gabriel Attal spoke of possible “New decisions” imminent. They would come in addition to other measures taken recently, in particular the extension to all adults of the booster dose of the anti-Covid vaccine, in the face of a doubly problematic situation in terms of the epidemic.
This has experienced a strong surge since the fall, in France as in most of Europe, and the flight of contaminations is now reflected in the hospital where the intensive care services are put to the test. According to the latest figures, nearly 3,000 patients are in intensive care and the figure should reach 4,000 at the time of the end of the year holidays, according to Gabriel Attal.
Certainly, in terms of contamination, “We are almost at a situation of equilibrium: […] we can consider that we are in the shape of a peak ”, had noticed Wednesday the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, in front of deputies. But if the wave where the delta variant dominates reaches its peak, we are far from a relief. First, the peak is high, around 50,000 cases per day. Then, nothing says that the contaminations will come down and not stay at a high plateau.
Above all, and this is the second great peril beyond the current wave, the new omicron variant, which is much more transmissible, is spreading in Europe and its boom is booming in some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Denmark. “Positive” point: if it gives rise to fear of increased contagiousness, its virulence and dangerousness do not seem superior to other known versions of the coronavirus.
What is the French government planning, when other countries like Germany and Austria have put in place strict measures that focus on the unvaccinated? In France, no containment or curfew on the program, whether for the unvaccinated or the entire population, even if the government is careful not to promise that it will never return to such measures again.
Strengthening border controls?
He should insist on vaccination and underline that this one certainly avoided the worst, by remaining powerful against the serious forms in spite of a rapid loss of effectiveness on the contaminations. “If we did not have a massive vaccination of the population, we would have already overwhelmed our hospitals for several weeks and France would be in general confinement”, estimated Olivier Véran.
Among the measures studied by the government for Friday is therefore an acceleration of the vaccine campaign. Olivier Véran mentioned a lead: a shortening of the time to perform his booster dose, currently set at five months since the previous vaccination. Nothing is yet decided on this point.
The other hypotheses, mentioned by Gabriel Attal, include a strengthening of border controls, although many epidemiologists doubt the effectiveness of such a measure in the face of the rise of omicron, and the publication of recommendations for the holidays. the end of the year. Travelers from the United Kingdom are already concerned in view of the epidemic situation across the Channel. Faced with an outbreak of contaminations linked to the omicron variant, the country on Thursday recorded more than 88,000 new positive cases in 24 hours. Unheard of since the start of the pandemic, according to official figures. The validity of tests on departure from the United Kingdom is therefore reduced from 48 to 24 hours and an isolation system on arrival in France is also in place, announced the French government, while calling on all travelers to “postpone their trip ” UK.
The purpose of these restrictions is to “Slow down as much as possible the arrival of cases of the omicron variant on our soil, the time that we vaccinate with booster doses”, explained Gabriel Attal on BFM TV and RMC. The latter indicated that 240 cases of the omicron variant were detected, but estimated that“There are probably more” in France. Nearly 3,000 patients are currently in intensive care in the country and the figure should reach 4,000 by the time of the end of the year holidays, according to him.
However, Emmanuel Macron tried to reassure on the night of Thursday to Friday, announcing that “Vaccinated people will not have to carry out tests to travel between member countries of the European Union”, after a summit bringing together European leaders in Brussels. Whether this will actually translate remains to be seen, while, as noted CheckNews, several countries have already started to reinstate these preventive measures.
Free modified and antigenic vacations?
Another topic often brought up in recent weeks, changing the dates of school holidays to curb the virus should not be part of government announcements, even if “No hypothesis is ruled out. It remains a possible tool, but today it is not a privileged hypothesis ”, recalled this Thursday morning Jean-Michel Blanquer on the set of France Info.
Finally, the government should also renew its advice of caution to the French a week before Christmas, with respect for barrier gestures and why not limiting the number of guests at the table. To prevent family tables from turning into a cluster, the executive is also considering free self-tests, according to information from BFMTV. But this possibility would only be intended for vaccinated people, as well as people with no or few symptoms. Their price is currently limited to 5.20 euros in pharmacies.
Openness to vaccination for 5-11 year olds not (yet) in the program
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 National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE) has already given its verdict on Thursday, authorizing anti-Covid vaccination for this age group, on a voluntary basis. But the state is awaiting the opinion of other bodies to make a final decision, in particular that of the High Authority for Health (HAS), and lastly that of the Orientation Council for the vaccine strategy (COSV) shortly before Christmas. .
Still, the executive, starting with Emmanuel Macron, does not hide its desire to take such a decision, on the model of Israel or the United States. “I think it is desirable”, he declared during a long interview recorded Sunday but broadcast Wednesday on TF1, excluding however an obligation.
At an even more distant deadline, the President has opened the door to another possibility concerning vaccination: that it must be regularly renewed as for the flu. “It is likely that we are going towards that for this virus”, he said, while we still do not know how effective the current booster doses will be over time.
Update : December 17 at 3:43 p.m., with the opinion of the National Consultative Ethics Council, statements by Emmanuel Macron and the trail of free self-tests.