"We put it in Sars-Cov-2, but it's something else", "another story", "there is a before and after".
This Tuesday morning on France Info, Professor Delfraissy underlined the paradigm shift imposed by the Omicron variant which triggers “significantly less severe” Covid-19.
“In our vision, our software, we have to change.
We will end up with 15.16 or 17 million French people infected.
But there is no change, there is even a drop in the number of admissions and the occupancy of beds in hospitals”, underlined the president of the Scientific Council, detailing the different singularities of the current situation. .
Towards a plateau
The current wave will continue until mid-March.
Despite a peak announced for weeks, Jean-François Delfraissy indicates that the contaminations will continue and that the hospital tension will continue: "The wave on hospitalization will be very heavy until mid-March".
Thus, instead of receding, the epidemic should stagnate in its current form for a few weeks: “We are going to be at a very high level, a plateau”, indicates the scientist.
And to reassure: "The number of contaminations will slowly end up falling," he says.
Professor Delfraissy is nevertheless delighted to see hospitals are much less overwhelmed than during the first wave with “4,000 intensive care beds occupied” instead of “7,000” during the first confinement.
Less injunctions, more self-tests
As Omicron changes the game, the "concept of taking care of the epidemic" must evolve, according to Jean-François Delfraissy.
Stop the “injunctions towards citizens”, recommends the researcher.
He prefers an approach more centered on individual responsibility: “Self-regulation, self-knowledge, using self-tests, this is an extremely positive element,” he said.
For the first time in two years, the scientist speaks without a mask on the set of France Info.
"It's a sign that we have to start anticipating what awaits us in mid-March," he said.
Understand: “We can imagine a spring of 2022 in not too bad conditions (…) and a virus that will become commonplace”.
Unless a new variant proves it wrong.
Read alsoStocks, prices, reliability ... what you need to know about self-tests, new pillars of the fight against Covid
BA.2 in ambush
“A sub-variant of Omicron, BA.2, little cousin, seems to be taking over.
If so, it is more transmissible.
The Scientific Council is watching it very carefully”, declared Jean-François Delfraissy, about this strain which is settling in Denmark.
“How serious is it?
I don't know, concedes the scientist.
The rise in cases observed in Denmark may be due to BA.2, as to the local health policy, very light a few days ago, evokes the scientist.
This new variant is under surveillance.
Nothing is played.
»
Read alsoOmicron: should we fear the BA.2 sub-variant?
Set dates for lifting restrictions
The president of the Scientific Council praised the reductions in restrictions programmed by the government “based not on indices, but on dates”.
A good thing according to him: It is no longer possible to predict the epidemic thanks to the cases detected, because few of them turn into hospitalization, thanks to the vaccines.
The scientist also underlines the effort of the French in their daily precautions, gestures which have a great effect: “By having a 15 to 20% drop in contacts linked to individual barrier measures, we can have an impact of 50% at the hospital”.
Do not add confusion in schools
Jean-François Delfraissy recognizes “significant contamination in schools”, especially among non-vaccinated children, but believes that changing the protocol would add confusion to the confusion.
By way of conclusion on Jean-Michel Blanquer's crisis management, he recalls that many recommendations were made on school measures by the Scientific Council, well before the start of the school year.
A vaccine-medicine
The formula will surprise the most rigorous scientists: “This vaccine is special, a form of medicinal vaccine”, confides Jean-François Delfraissy.
And to admit: “Normally I shouldn't say that.
But that's the reality.
He is very special”.
In question: the short duration of immunity and the weak protection against transmissions, which opposes reminders so regular that the injection resembles taking preventive medication.
The metaphor should not, however, diminish the benefits of the serum.
“The vaccine against Covid-19 has a tremendous action in preventing serious and severe forms,” he recalls.
For the moment, no data suggests that a fourth dose should be given, explains the scientist.
"The Israelis decided on data that is hard to get," he regretted.