Yasmina Kattou
modified to
07:09, October 19, 2022
Covid-19 is back in the news. For this eighth wave, the level of contamination is high. More than 50,000 daily cases on average are detected every day. In an attempt to stem the epidemic, a new vaccination campaign against Covid began on October 3, without much success so far.
Eclipsed by current events, the Covid-19 has not however disappeared from France. As autumn progresses, coronavirus contaminations are on the rise again with, on average, 56,000 cases recorded each day in France. The number of contaminations has been constant for a few days, underlining that it seems that we are on a plateau. Hospitalizations are increasing, especially in critical care with nearly 91 new patients every day on average. This is 18% more than last week.
New variants
No worries on the side of the hospital, which for the moment has the capacity to deal with this eighth wave. Because it is always the sub-variant of Omicron, the BA5, which circulates in France. But other strains have been spotted on the territory, such as BQ1.1. A cousin of BA5 which represents 18% of positive cases.
And additional difficulty, this variant seems to escape the immunity acquired during these last two years. Barrier gestures such as ventilation and wearing a mask remain effective against infection.
Who can be vaccinated and with which vaccine?
To try to stem the epidemic, the authorities recommend favoring bivalent vaccines for booster doses, that is to say those adapted to Omicron BA1 and BA5. Pfizer and Moderna have each released their serum.
The authorities are calling on people at risk of having a serious form to get vaccinated as soon as possible, and in particular those over 60, the immunocompromised or pregnant women. But anyone who wants to be vaccinated can go to a pharmacy to receive their dose. You just have to respect a deadline of three months after the Covid infection, or six months after the last injection.