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Covid-19: "At least three times more contagious" ... Olivier Véran has said a little more about Omicron

2021-12-27T20:57:31.940Z


This Monday, the Minister of Health detailed the first concrete elements available concerning the Omicron variant, which is required by


Double epidemic.

"We are facing two simultaneous waves, which are linked to two different variants and which require two types of complementary measures, in order to slow them down", declared the Minister of Solidarity and Health, Olivier Véran, this Monday, December 27, at a press conference after an exceptional Defense Council and Council of Ministers.

During this speech, the government announced braking measures to reduce the number of new cases of Covid-19 - more than 70,000 each day, on average over the last seven days.

He also took the opportunity to take stock of the impact of Omicron, this variant in the process of boosting the fifth wave and on the way to asserting itself in France and around the world.

Read also Covid-19: recall deadline, return of gauges, no curfew ... What to remember from Jean Castex's announcements

First observation: the fight against Delta is not over.

If in some regions the number of contaminations due to this variant is decreasing, in others, it continues to increase, specifies Olivier Véran.

“Overall, we are on a high plateau.

"To this plateau is now added Omicron," a variant that circulates so quickly ", concedes the Minister of Health that it is not yet possible to master" the ins and outs ".

It recontaminates people who are already infected

Unlike its predecessors, Omicron established itself even before precisely these specificities were identified. France still has some certainties: Omicron is much more contagious than Delta, "at least three times more", indicates Olivier Véran. Faced with this contagiousness, "we could reach 250,000 cases of Covid-19 per day at the beginning of January", details the doctor.

Such a level of transmission calls into question the effectiveness of the braking measures implemented so far, he says. “Apart from generalized confinement, nothing seems to slow down the race” in other countries, recognizes Olivier Véran. “Omicron is responsible for many contact cases,” he continues. Thus this variant risks causing "a paralysis of public and private services", which explains the relaxation of the duration of solitary confinement, soon to be planned by the government.

Other certainties: Omicron can recontaminate people who have already contracted Covid-19, even with a severe form.

“It is a game-changer.

We can therefore fall ill again.

"The mutations of this strain of Sars-Cov-2 also make vaccines less effective, if the vaccination schedule is not complete:" The level of protection goes back to above 90% in the face of the risk of serious forms ", reassures Olivier Véran, insisting on the importance of having made a recall, as quickly as possible.

Less dangerous ?

This remains to be confirmed

If the picture seems black, the minister mentioned several encouraging hypotheses: this variant could produce fewer serious forms and send patients for a shorter period of time to the hospital.

However, "there are still biases," he admits.

The published studies focus mainly on young patients, naturally less prone to developing severe forms.

Finally, it is possible that Omicron only briefly boosts the wave of contamination before gradually decreasing in intensity, as observed in South Africa and other countries in the south of the continent.

Again, this is only a hypothesis, France not having the same number of patients and vaccinated.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2021-12-27

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