The little brother of the Omicron virus shouldn’t totally ruin the holidays. Questioned this Thursday at the microphone of RTL, the president of the Scientific Council, Jean-François Delfraissy, returned to the epidemic rebound observed in recent weeks in France. Contaminations linked to the BA.5 sub-variant, more transmissible than the previous ones, should reach their peak “rather towards the end of July”, judges the scientist. “Last year, we had the first wave of the Delta variant in the summer. A first peak occurred at the end of July, before a second peak at the end of October, beginning of November. We expect the same thing for BA.5,” he explains.
If the summer and the departures on vacation should not be threatened, tensions could however increase in the coming weeks at the hospital. “What is important is not the infection, but the impact it can have on the healthcare system. On the one hand, we have a rising number of hospitalizations – with 150,000 cases of Covid-19 per day – even if we are still not observing additional admissions to critical care. On the other hand, we have a weaker supply of care. The health system is not doing very well, as everyone knows,” notes the scientist. According to this doctor, the health system “should however hold, on condition of resuming the vaccination of the oldest” and the “recommendations to limit the transmission” of the virus.
“You have to get vaccinated with the 4th dose”
The concern today remains relative. “It will not spoil our summer because we are mostly vaccinated”, points out the professor, while recommending a 4th dose for the most fragile. “You have to get vaccinated with the 4th dose if you are over 60, or have risk factors. These vaccines are safe and effective against BA.5”, he recalls, while adding that new serums “will be available in the fall”.
Regarding the mask, the wearing of which is recommended by the Minister of Health, Brigitte Bourguignon, Jean-François Delfraissy believes that “the government was right not to make it compulsory”. “In this crisis, you have to be scalable. If we stay with a certain number of fixed positions, it doesn’t stick. Because we need the acceptability of citizens. (…) It seems logical to recommend wearing a mask for the oldest, the most fragile and for all those who want to protect themselves or others. »
Finally, returning to the law of “health vigilance”, the president of the Scientific Council believes that it will end as planned on July 31. This should not prevent the authorities from keeping “tools to deal with a possible new, more severe variant” at the start of the school year.