Whether you have symptoms, whether you are in contact or looking for a sesame to celebrate New Year's Eve, it is better to be patient to be screened by a PCR test.
On Doctolib, the slots still available this week are scarce everywhere in France, particularly in the big cities.
"There is an obvious saturation because the demand is much too strong"
, confirms François Blanchecotte, president of the Syndicate of biologists (SDB), in
Figaro
.
An "
inevitable"
situation
,
according to him.
To discover
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Read alsoFaced with Omicron, are antigenic tests still reliable?
The incessant increase in Covid-19 contamination - more than 200,000 announced this Wednesday - has prompted the French to go massively to the laboratory to carry out a PCR test.
"For a positive person, there are on average between 5 and 7 contact cases, which makes at least 1 million people who will perform a test"
, analyzes François Blanchecotte who expects more than 2.5 million PCRs made this week. In addition to contact cases and symptomatic people, there are those who, celebrating holidays with family or friends, want to ensure that they do not risk infecting them. This is, in fact, what the Prime Minister recommended on Monday inviting "
each and everyone, vaccinated or not, to test themselves in the hours preceding
»These moments of gathering, while respecting barrier gestures. An
“illusory”
instruction
for the president of the SDB:
“Even with the best will, we can only test 10% of the population in a week”.
If the laboratories manage to return all the results, despite a waiting time which can, in some cases, exceed 24 hours, the avalanche of contamination puts the system to the test.
"We have put in place night cycles, but once all the machines are filled and started, we have to wait about four hours before being able to test new samples"
, recalls François Blanchecotte who wonders about the government's request identify the variant for each contamination.
"Does it really have an interest as Omicron becomes majority in the country?"
It is time that we waste not analyzing whether a sample is positive or not, ”he
regrets.
Lack of staff
Especially since the staff is starting to run out. Absences due to contact or contamination cases are increasing, forcing some laboratories to close their doors for lack of sufficient staff. Not to mention the Christmas holidays and general fatigue after almost two years of the epidemic.
“In my laboratory, during the calmest periods, we carried out 4 to 5 PCRs per day compared to 200 to 300 currently. Even if we double the wages for overtime, the employees are tired, ”
says François Blanchechotte.
"We had asked for a reinforcement of personnel, in particular students, but we had no response"
, he denounces.
But hospitals and vaccination also require additional manpower, difficult to meet the strong general demand, replies the Ministry of Health ensuring
"reconcile"
all the needs and meet with all the professions concerned by this. lack.
Other alternatives
The ministry also recalls that, if the PCR test is essential to confirm contamination, there are
“other
screening
tools”
such as the antigen test performed in pharmacies or in the form of a self-test. The latter
"may constitute a useful alternative, in particular for vaccinated people, non-symptomatic and non-contact at risk wishing to carry out a reinsurance test"
, agrees the General Directorate of Health. Sold in pharmacies, it is also available in supermarkets from Tuesday until January 31. Still, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday that according to
"preliminary data"
the sensitivity of the antigen
"may be reduced"
in the detection of the Omicron variant.
What to encourage even more the French to favor the PCR test.
Read alsoFaced with Omicron, are antigenic tests still reliable?
Used to going to doctolib, in particular to find vaccination appointments, they should not be limited to this platform, warns François Blanchecotte.
“You also have to look at your nearest lab site if there are any free slots left or by calling it.
And there are laboratories that operate without an appointment
,
”he
recalls.
The Santé.fr site also lists the screening locations for each department.
Despite the end of the holidays approaching, the president of the SDB does not want to be optimistic for all that.
The resumption of the school on January 3 makes indeed fear to the laboratories a demand for PCR test always at its highest level in the days to come.
"Have we reached the plateau or will the number of contaminations still experience phenomenal increases?"
, he wonders.