Guest of the RTL-Le Figaro-LCI "Grand Jury" this Sunday, January 17, the epidemiologist and member of the Scientific Council Arnaud Fontanet hopes for a "
return to normal life in the last quarter of 2021. But for that, it would take a larger dissemination of vaccines
”.
The professor said he was "
optimistic on a six-month scale
" for vaccination of the entire population.
Read also: Covid-19: the bar of 70,000 deaths exceeded, 24,316 people vaccinated in 24 hours
“
The first objective is to vaccinate the most vulnerable.
The second objective is to stop the spread of the virus.
For this it will therefore be necessary to "
reach out to the youngest
" and extend vaccination coverage "
to children
".
"
As soon as we confirm that there are no serious adverse effects due to the vaccine, we will no longer have any reason to deprive ourselves, we can then go down in age,
" said Arnaud Fontanet.
For the moment, undesirable effects are possible but “
very rare
”: “
We are on scales of 1 per 100,000.
», Assures the professor.
He explained, however, that it was difficult “
to predict how many doses of vaccine will be available within three months.
We should be able to vaccinate 8 million people before the end of March, then 12 million in April
”.
Read also: Covid-19: could a “vaccine passport” to access certain places and services see the light of day in France?
The epidemiologist has mainly insisted on the importance of "
awareness on a global scale
".
“
We will only get rid of the virus if we play the card of a global health problem and the vaccines reach all countries of the world.
Otherwise, there is a risk of favoring the arrival of new variants.
"On this subject,"
a global surveillance of variants
"is necessary and, in France,"
according to the most probable scenario, the English variant could become the majority in March and have effects on the health system in the spring
", indicated Arnaud Fontanet.
To date, the curfew at 6 p.m., implemented since Saturday, January 16, is undoubtedly "
the last chance not to go towards total containment
".
