In France, Covid-19 contaminations reached a new record with nearly 180,000 cases detected in 24 hours on Tuesday, December 28. A sharp increase attributed to the Omicron variant. A virus that should spare no one, or almost, according to infectious disease specialist Benjamin Rossi.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made more than 5.4 million deaths worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to Agence France-Presse, which has relied on official sources to draw this heavy toll. This Tuesday, December 28, France, but also its European neighbors, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland and Greece, recorded case thresholds never reached. In our country, nearly 180,000 cases were detected in 24 hours. An outbreak attributed to the Omicron variant.
Guest on the set of LCI this Wednesday morning, infectious disease specialist Benjamin Rossi explains that this virus is “completely different”, who is “more contagious” and “which gives ENT symptoms. “ A virus that is more restrictive for children then “When they have trouble breathing at night, when they have a fever, parents are worried and then it can cause breathing problems so the children no longer go to the emergency room”, assures this doctor from the Aulnay-sous-Bois hospital center. “Omicron for me is an evolution of the disease and it goes infect almost everyone“, launches Benjamin Rossi before reassuring: “Indeed, it is less serious so it may be a good development on an individual basis, better to be infected with Omicron today than with Delta yesterday. “
What about the effectiveness of the vaccine booster against Covid-19
Last week WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed that“No country will be able to get out of the pandemic with booster doses.” A statement that comes as the French government continues to encourage vaccination to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and comes from shorten the vaccination deadline to three months for the booster. “I do not believe that it is necessary to vaccinate every fortnight”, he accredits on the LCI set. And to add: “The objective for me was to have a double vaccination for the whole population, since this is what allows really significantly reduce severe cases and the cases that go into effect “, assures this specialist who specifies that “the third dose is a booster dose, i.e. to maintain longer immunity“.
Photo credits: LCI screenshot