Should we fear a wave of Covid during the holidays? While since the start of the summer season, the number of cases has started to rise again, Bruno Lina, professor of virology at the Lyon University Hospital and member of the scientific council, returned this morning to the health situation at the microphone of Europe 1. According to the scientist, if the number of patients is likely to increase further to the peak, the summer should not be threatened by the virus.
“The serious forms are in very clear decrease”
“We expect to reach the peak quite quickly and behind, a phase of decline which will take a few weeks, during which the virus will still be a little bit present”, he explains. “The BA.5 virus is circulating, people are infected but the serious forms are in very marked decrease compared to what we observed in the previous waves. We still observe serious forms in the over 80s and the over 60 who have comorbidities. It is to them that we must pay attention: they must be vaccinated and that when the virus circulates, as at the moment, we put in place barrier measures to protect them “, recalls the professor of virology.
As for the question of the mask, Bruno Lina recommends wearing it “in closed places, where there are people and not just in public transport. It’s a little reflex to have.”
“This virus is so contagious that on a planetary scale, everyone will be infected”
For the moment, it is also impossible to know more about the evolution of the pandemic, especially since at the “international level, several viruses are circulating, which means that this virus is not yet stabilized. therefore exposes to a reintroduction of viruses from certain regions. We have not yet switched to the moment when it will become seasonal and commonplace.
However for Bruno Lina, one thing is certain: “No one can pretend to escape the virus, it is so contagious that everyone, on a planetary scale, will be infected. It is important to see the advantage of vaccination for those who have not yet been infected. The Omicron virus is not dangerous for those who have background, cellular immunity, but those without immunity are exposed to severe forms if they are fragile”, underlines- he. “There are also long Covids, patients with chronic pathologies, and it seems that the vaccinated have less long Covid than the non-vaccinated.”
Precisely, concerning vaccination, he recommends “considering a booster vaccination for the most fragile or for a larger number of people, depending on the situation at the start of winter.”