The Delta variant, identified for the first time in India, is particularly present in the British kingdom. Health Minister Matt Hancock provided an update on this variant. What does it teach us? What are the risks in France?
More transmissible than the Alpha variant
Deconfinement is being done in stages in the United Kingdom. However, the restrictions may not all be lifted as planned, as the Delta variant continues to infect residents. Indeed, the date of the next stage of deconfinement in the country is June 21, but this could be postponed. A decision is expected on June 14. On the BBC, the UK minister said the Delta variant was more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was first detected in the UK. It has a 40% higher transmission rate than the Alpha variant. It is therefore spreading more and would particularly affect younger people who are not vaccinated. In the United Kingdom, the number of new infections has increased in recent days, reaching more than 5,000 cases reported daily. However, the number of people admitted to hospital is stabilizing.
Where are we in France?
Santé Publique France indicates that as of June 3, there are 54 episodes of the Delta variant in France, which represents ” more than a hundred cases confirmed by sequencing “. These cases have been reported mainly in the Ile-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and New Aquitaine regions. For 48 episodes, a link with a foreign country, in particular India, is proven. What raises some questions, however, is that no link with another country has been reported for the family cluster reported in the Landes, in New Aquitaine. The Health Organization also indicates that for the time being, “ no evidence in favor of significant community dissemination has been reported in France but recent data show the start of localized community transmission in certain regions “. For the moment, there is no epidemic extension.
In addition, Olivier Véran indicated on BFM that the strategy “ test, trace, isolate “Continues to be applied, specifying that the Delta variant was” tracked down “. On the other hand, the epidemiologist, Yves Coppieters, explains that the Delta variant rather affects people who have not yet been vaccinated. However, even if the protection against variants is a little weaker, he reminds us that the Pfizer vaccine has an efficiency of 70 to 80%, in the laboratory. It is 60% when a person has received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. He also wants to be reassuring, noting that a ” vaccination that protects at 60, 70% is a good vaccination “.
