On the eve of a new boost on the vaccination against Covid-19, open Monday, May 10 to all over 50 years of age, caution remains in order on the front of the epidemic, due to a persistent mistrust of AstraZeneca and a continuing health situation “Worrying”.
From Monday, all French people aged 50 and over will be able to be vaccinated unconditionally, five days earlier than initially planned. From Wednesday, the injections will also be accessible to people over 18 years old. These injunctions will be possible when a slot will be available the day before for the next day on appointment booking platforms such as Doctolib, in order not to waste any dose.
Persistent distrust of the Astrazeneca vaccine
But the campaign faces several pitfalls, including persistent mistrust of the AstraZeneca vaccine, of which only 75% of the doses received were injected according to figures released last Sunday.
Anxious to increase the pace, Prime Minister Jean Castex recalled on Saturday the absence of ” danger “ linked to the Anglo-Swedish vaccine for those over 55 for whom it is reserved. “The authorities are all unanimous, in France as elsewhere”, he stressed, calling on the population to “Vaccinate with all vaccines, in particular with AstraZeneca”.
“We must continue to do it [vacciner avec AstraZeneca] because it will help us out of the crisis. But to respond to the variants, we see that other vaccines are more effective today. This signals a European pragmatism and I welcome it “, reacted Emmanuel Macron in Strasbourg.
In total, the AstraZeneca has resulted in “30 cases, including 9 deaths” of rare thromboses in France, out of more than 3,800,000 doses administered on April 29, according to the French Medicines Agency (ANSM).
Soon 20 million vaccinated
If the goal set by the government of 30 million French people vaccinated in mid-June remains uncertain, the bar of 20 million people who received at least one injection in mid-May (against more than 17.8 million currently) should be reached. “May 17th”, believes the boss of Doctolib, Stanislas Niox-Chateau.
According to him, “We now vaccinate just in time” But “The limiting factor remains the number of doses”. Another brake, vaccination “Two to three times” lesser “Weekends and public holidays”, a tendency to fight with the approach of several bridges (Ascension, Pentecost), he insisted, also calling for “Rest more” on liberal doctors and pharmacists.
The vaccination campaign could also suffer from the summer holidays, due to a lack of caregivers or the period of six to twelve weeks between two injections depending on the vaccines.
The crisis exit project presented on Monday
Between now and the summer holidays, the government intends to continue the gradual lifting of health restrictions, with in particular, on May 19, the reopening of non-essential stores, cultural places and terraces.
He will submit Monday to deputies his plan to end the health crisis, certain provisions, such as the health pass, are cringe among parliamentarians.
The number of intensive care patients drops to less than 5,000 people
The context remains tense, despite the slow decline in the number of patients hospitalized in intensive care units, dropping to less than 5,000 people, Sunday May 9. The number of hospital admissions is decreasing more markedly, according to figures from Public Health France.
Critical care services (which combine resuscitation, intensive care and continuous monitoring) accommodated 4,971 people, against 5,005 on Saturday and 5,106 on Friday. This indicator, monitored very closely by the health authorities, is slowly moving away from the threshold of 6,000 patients exceeded on April 26 and the alarming peak of the first wave of spring 2020, with around 7,000 patients. In twenty-four hours, 129 new patients with severe forms of Covid were admitted to intensive care units, against 191 the day before and 269 on Friday.
The decrease is also observed for all hospitalizations, with a total of patients with Covid-19 amounting to 25,797, a little less than the day before (25,800) and much better than Friday (26,331 ). The drop in hospital admissions over the last twenty-four hours is more marked: 527 patients, against 844, Saturday, and 1,140, Friday.