If Covid-19 is still circulating, the disease is less and less frightening: 40% of French people say they are no longer concerned about the virus, according to a new survey.
- 40% of French people surveyed say they are no longer concerned about COVID-19 and almost 1 in 4 people consider that barrier gestures are not useful.
- Almost 2 out of 3 French people believe that there are many risks of catching SARS-CoV-2, but only 33% think that you should get tested as soon as you show signs.
- Only 1 in 3 people at risk would immediately notify their doctor if they learned that they were positive for Covid-19 (34%)
This week, Dr Michael Ryan, in charge of WHO’s health emergencies programme, said that Covid-19 will not be eliminated and that “the SARS-CoV-2 virus will join the pantheon of respiratory viruses”. This information does not seem to worry the French. A survey carried out by Pfizer and Ipsos shows that 4 out of 10 French people are no longer concerned about the coronavirus.
Covid-19: barrier gestures increasingly neglected
To perceive the evolution of the perceptions and behavior of the French vis-à-vis SARS-CoV-2 after 3 years of pandemic, 4,000 people, including more than 2,000 people at risk of developing a severe form of the disease, have were questioned at the end of 2022. In addition to the 40% of French people claiming that they are no longer worried about the coronavirus, almost 1 in 4 respondents said that barrier gestures are not useful. The same proportion believe that Covid-19 is a mild disease and that the epidemic is over.
More worrying in terms of the spread of a virus that is still active, one in three individuals questioned said that they would not inform all of the people they have encountered in recent days. In addition, 3 out of 5 French people indicated that they would not immediately inform their general practitioner, even when they are at risk.
Respondents acknowledge that they prefer to manage the situation themselves if they have symptoms of Covid-19, both for screening, assessment of the level of severity of the disease or the steps to be taken. In addition, several of them confided that they could give up being tested, if:
- the symptoms do not worry them enough (58%);
- they decide to prefer to isolate themselves (51%);
- they believe it is unlikely to be Covid-19 (42%).
Coronavirus: even those at risk let their guard down
The survey also shows that vigilance in the face of Covid-19, in particular the application of barrier gestures, is crumbling. And it’s not just healthy individuals, populations at risk of developing a severe form of the disease also seem to be letting their guard down. “Less than one person at risk in 5 (17%) asks their relatives to systematically apply barrier gestures in their presence”says the report.
In addition, in the event of symptoms of Covid-19, only 33% of them would systematically go to be tested. A third party would notify her doctor immediately if she learned she was positive. The rest would wait to experience really bothersome effects (26%).
“When we see that only one in two people (54%) systematically disinfect their hands so as not to contaminate a person at risk in their entourage and that only 1 in 4 French people (27%) wear the mask in their presence, it seems obvious that awareness-raising efforts should be continued to avoid an increase in contamination”, says David Lepoittevin, Director of the Vaccines Division at Pfizer France.
