Health Minister Olivier Véran announced that the validity of negative tests would increase from 48 to 72 hours. Scientists are alarmed by this decision.
- More than 36 million people are now fully vaccinated in France.
- A self-test may have the value of a health pass, if it is carried out under the supervision of a health professional.
- In the Netherlands, the validity periods of the tests have been shortened: they have gone from 40 to 24 hours.
If non-vaccinated people are certainly happy about it, scientists are worried: the PCR tests will be valid for 72 hours, and no longer 48 hours. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced it on Sunday August 8. Since July 21, a negative test or a complete vaccination schedule, i.e. the administration of two doses, is required to access certain places such as cinemas, theaters or amusement parks. Since August 9, they are mandatory to access restaurants, bars and cafes.
A measure related to logistical issues
The entry into force of the health pass in these very busy places implies an increase in the number of tests carried out daily. For “respond to the anticipated logistical difficulties for the deployment of large-scale tests in order to make the “health pass” operational“, the Scientific Council recommends extending the validity of negative tests in its opinion of August 5. In an interview at Parisianthe Minister of Health confirmed the reasons for this extension of validity: “These arrangements will allow us to best meet the demand for tests and to increase the number of screening locations with the cooperation of local authorities.
Strong reactions from health professionals
The members of the Scientific Council specify that this measure is based only on limited scientific knowledge. The medical and scientific community is particularly concerned. ” Given the reliability of certain tests and the serological window, the #PassSanitaire in these new “relaxed” conditions is no longer useless“, exclaims a public health researcher on Twitter. Many scientists argue for a shorter validity period, particularly because of the Delta variant. “According to preliminary estimates, the incubation period [séparant l’infection de l’apparition des symptômes] is a bit shorter with this Delta variant, just under 4 daysexplains Dominique Costagliola, epidemiologist, at Parisian. And we know that we can be infectious before, so we can be negative on a certain day and contagious 72 hours later.“Thus, despite a negative test, it is possible to be infected and contagious, even without symptoms, a few days later: in this case, the health pass would not prevent the transmission of the virus.
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