“The epidemic has not disappeared, the virus still kills and strikes again”, declared Elisabeth Borne, the Prime Minister, at the end of November in the National Assembly. As the ninth wave of the Covid-19 epidemic begins, the threshold of 160,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 has been crossed in France, according to figures published Tuesday, December 13 by Public Health France.
A total of 160,008 people died, including 130,617 in hospital. The bar of 150,000 dead had been crossed on July 8. In 2022 alone, nearly 40,000 Covid deaths were recorded.
The epidemic, which had experienced a lull after a post-return wave, started again for more than three weeks. It is carried by Omicron’s BQ.1.1 sub-variant, which is gradually replacing BA.5.
Almost three years after the start of the pandemic, this new wave is still increasing contamination, but at a slower pace in recent days. The horizon of the epidemic peak is still uncertain.
As of Tuesday evening, there were 23,217 hospitalized patients, including 2,104 new admissions. One hundred and thirty-five patients have died in hospital in the past twenty-four hours.
The Covid-19 adds to an early and ascending flu, but also to bronchiolitis at record levels for more than ten years in infants. This “triple epidemic”which hits, as in other countries, an already tested health system, is “completely new” and its evolution difficult to predict, had underlined at the beginning of December Public Health France.
Lagging vaccination
However, the anti-Covid booster vaccination remains behind in France – like that against the flu –, despite a recent rebound. Only “2.8 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 since the beginning of October, this is far fewer than our European neighbors”thus underlined last week the Minister of Health François Braun, referring specifically to the ongoing recall campaign.
Calling for a start, the minister hammered that everyone could ” to get vaccinated “ with an anti-Covid reminder, while the communication on the fall vaccination has been criticized for its confusion. This message was relayed to professionals on Tuesday by the general directorate of health.
For the wearing of the mask, the government always refrains from making it an obligation in closed and frequented places, to the great displeasure of caregivers, epidemiologists or patient associations.