Exactly three years ago, a mysterious pneumonia appeared in China.
The Covid-19 has since been at the origin of nine epidemic waves in France.
Should the mask be made compulsory again, when the circulation of the virus is clearly on the rise at the beginning of November?
How to encourage more people to (re) get vaccinated, in a context of fed up with repeated reminders?
The Committee for monitoring and anticipating health risks (successor to the scientific council) provides some answers in its 2nd opinion devoted to Covid-19, made public on Monday.
Here's what to remember.
Triple epidemic in progress, the 9th wave of Covid reaches its peak
This opinion is given in the context of a triple Covid-19/bronchiolitis/influenza epidemic, with curves evolving at different rates.
The 9th wave of Covid has just peaked, two weeks after the annual outbreak of bronchiolitis.
But "the lasting drop in temperature, the recent changes in protective measures in China, the low rate of vaccination protection for the most vulnerable and the holiday season are factors of potential aggravation of the epidemic risk, both in its amplitude and its clinical impact”, nuances the Covars.
Flu indicators have been on the rise for a month and the whole metropolis is now on high alert, but the peak is still far away.
"We have seen an early start to the influenza epidemic, mainly with an A (H3N2) virus, which has a high epidemic and pathogenic potential, with a risk of significant impact in fragile populations who are insufficiently vaccinated", warns the authority.
Mandatory mask?
Pros and cons
In this context, the government opposes the return of the mandatory mask in public transport or other public places.
But what about the Covars, which had been seized for an opinion?
The authority does not decide for or against the obligation, but is content to put forward arguments.
On the one hand, making the wearing of a mask compulsory can be justified by "a low effectiveness of the recommendation messages" or even "the induction of a new norm allowing all those who wish to wear the mask to do so without stigmatization" .
Conversely, this could lead to "a perception of the limitation of individual freedoms", with also a headache to "precisely define the places of this obligation".
So far, the government is sticking to its line of recommending face protection in enclosed spaces.
Whether or not the mask becomes compulsory again, the Covars calls for “strengthening their accessibility / making them available free of charge in all places where they are necessary”.
The acceptability of booster doses of the vaccine in question
The number of people who receive a booster dose of vaccine each day has doubled in three weeks, from around 35,000 to 100,000. But vaccination coverage remains low (around 15% of those over 60 have received an additional dose this fall), which “reflects the difficulties, for the population and certain health professionals, in understanding the objectives of these repeated reminders against Covid-19”, estimates the Covars.
Read alsoCovid-19: volunteers for a vaccine booster… but turned away
With the appearance of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, it is necessary “to make regular reminders spaced 3 to 6 months apart to reinduce neutralizing antibody titers compatible with protection each time”, further advance the experts.
While acknowledging that this strategy leads to “questions as to the medium-term acceptability of eligible populations”.
Covars recommends “incentive and transparent communication aimed at the general population, transmitting simple messages that are easily understood by eligible populations”.
But also “strengthening of communication intended for caregivers on the benefits and limits of vaccine reminders during an epidemic”.
Only 10% of healthcare professionals received a booster shot this fall.
After dithering for several weeks, the government finally formalized the fact that everyone could receive a booster dose this fall.
People over 60 and adults at risk of serious forms are given priority, provided they have allowed at least six months to pass since the last dose (or three months for those over 80) and three months since a possible infection. .
Promote self-tests
230,000 people take a PCR or antigen test every day, a figure that has been rising sharply for a month… but which remains much lower than during previous peaks.
“In order to protect the most fragile during the holiday period and in addition to messages on vaccination”, the Covars pleads to massively promote self-tests.
These do-it-yourself swabs were all the rage during the first wave of the Omicron variant nearly a year ago.
They are now less used, in particular because they are no longer sold in supermarkets since February 15.
The Covars also pleads in the long term to “maintain an appropriate level of virological surveillance, in particular by PCR and sequencing, in order to continue to follow the appearance of new variants”.
A similar message has been conveyed for several months by the World Health Organization.
"It is essential to carry out systematic genetic sequencing if we want to follow the emergence and impact of variants", she insisted in the summer of 2021.
