While a new wave is expected in the fall, where is the Covid-19 epidemic?
- In France, the Omicron variant is the main one in circulation with a predominance of the BA.5 sub-lineage.
- The second booster dose is open to people aged 60 to 79, adults aged 18 to 60 at risk of severe form, pregnant women from the first trimester, and people close to immunocompromised or vulnerable people.
- The administration of the dose takes place six months after the last injection, or the last infection.
It’s back to school for more than 12 million students, Thursday, September 1. For some adults, this week is also the week of returning to work. And if during the summer, the seventh wave of Covid-19 has passed, the concern returns with the start of the school year.
A decrease in circulation
“Circulation of SARS-CoV-2 continued to slow, but less markedly compared to previous weeks.”Explain Public Health France in its latest weekly epidemiological update, dated August 26. On August 28, 14,110 new cases were recorded, a drop of 4.8% in seven days. The incidence rate has decreased by 15%, on July 9, it was 1,351.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, against 185.2 on August 25. It is still very high in Reunion, where it exceeds 800 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In metropolitan France, four regions have an incidence rate above 200: Corsica, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. At the same time, Public Health France observes a decrease in hospital admissions. At the beginning of July, more than 10,000 visits to the emergency room for suspicion of Covid-19 were recorded each day, only 282 were counted on August 25.
An eighth wave expected
If these declining figures seem reassuring, the coming weeks could change the situation. During a trip on August 23, Health Minister François Braun said he expected an eighth wave of Covid-19 in the fall. “It is not yet known how big it will be.“, he specified to the chain BFM TV. “This outbreak has taught us to be really humble and careful in our clarifications.” he added.
Vaccination and barrier gestures: measures to be maintained
Public Health France recalls that barrier gestures are necessary to “protect the most vulnerable, and that it is essential to respect the isolation measures in the event of a positive test or contact at risk. But protection also requires vaccination. “As of August 22, vaccination coverage was 85.3% among people aged 65 and over for the booster dose, finds the organization. Only 32.6% of those aged 60-79 and 45.7% of those aged 80 and over had received their second booster dose among those eligible (by time since last injection). For Santé Publique France, it is very important to improve vaccination coverage, considered “insufficient”in particular in the DROMs and in the elderly.
What protocol in schools?
For the coming year, the Ministry of National Education has established a health protocol divided into four levels of risk: from base to level three. For the start of the new school year, the “base” level measures are adopted throughout the territory: all lessons are face-to-face, no restrictions concerning physical education and sports activities, and the health protocol is the same as that of the general population. If the virus circulates again strongly, whatever the level of risk, the health protocol provides for the maintenance of face-to-face lessons for primary schools and colleges.
