The chairman of the Vaccine Strategy Steering Committee, Alain Fischer, considers "
possible
" to achieve collective immunity, with 90% of the population vaccinated, at "the
beginning of autumn
".
Asked Monday August 2 on RTL on the date on which France could achieve collective immunity, the professor of immunology, declared: "
It is a possibility for the beginning of the autumn
".
Read also: Covid-19: will the current vaccination rate achieve collective immunity in the coming months?
Collective immunity is achieved when 90% of the population over 12 years of age is vaccinated or protected because they have been infected.
But although "
vaccination is progressing very quickly these days
", we "
must finish convincing those who, for the moment, have not been vaccinated
", pleaded the doctor, at the head of the organization in charge. to advise the government on its vaccination strategy.
Increased hospital pressure
Vaccination coverage is progressing - nearly 53% of the French population has a complete vaccination schedule - but hospital pressure continues to increase, as a result of the strong contagiousness of the Delta variant. Hospitals had 7,581 Covid patients on Sunday against 6,843 a week earlier. The intensive care units welcomed 1,137 seriously ill patients against 886 last Sunday.
"
Almost half of the people who are hospitalized in intensive care are under 60 years old, which was not the case at the start of the epidemic, because there are fewer vaccinated subjects in those under 60 years old
", exposed Alain Fischer.
"
No one is safe from serious infection
," he said, explaining that the unvaccinated "
make the most serious forms
" of Covid-19.
No vaccination obligation or third dose
Asked about a possible vaccination obligation, the professor considered that there was "
a good chance of getting there without obligation
" but "
if unfortunately the epidemic was still present at a high level and with group immunity, not far from 'be reached, then perhaps it would be necessary to resort to the vaccination obligation
”.
"
It is a duty of collective protection
", he argued, "
we are protecting people's lives, protecting our hospital system which can be threatened at any time by a resumption of the epidemic
" .
Read also: Covid-19: should we fear a shortage of vaccine doses?
As for the injection of a third dose, "
for the moment, we are not there except for the most fragile people, that is to say the oldest over 75-80 years, people who are immunocompromised and for whom it will certainly be necessary without waiting from the beginning of the autumn to set up the booster vaccination
”. For the rest of the population, "
we can wait a bit and see what the data will be on the persistence of immunity
."
