“
We can imagine a spring of 2022 in not too bad conditions, subject to a new variant. There will surely be something in the fall, but what kind of variant? Transmissible and not very severe (…) or transmissible and severe like Delta
”, wondered Jean-François Delfraissy, president of the Scientific Council at the microphone of France Info this Tuesday morning. According to the scientist, hospitalizations will reach "
rather a plateau than a decline
" around mid-March with, however, regional heterogeneity.
“
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
, ”he explains. In question: a variant "
more transmissible, but less severe
". “
The number of new contaminations no longer has the same value as with the previous variants
”. The Omicron wave “
is not over
” even if “
the context is different from with the Delta
”. The Scientific Council is following the health situations in the United Kingdom and Denmark with interest. In the latter country, a sub-variant the BA.2 "
seems to take over.
If it does, it is because it is more transmissible (...), the whole question is whether it is severe
”.
Read alsoCovid-19: what you need to know about BA.2, a sub-variant of Omicron
The BA.2 is “
a little cousin of Omicron.
Why is it more transmissible?
I do not know.
What is its severity level?
(...) I do not know.
(…) It is already in France and would be in the process of becoming the majority in India
”, he specified.
Professor Delfraissy has not yet decided on the possibility of a fourth dose, regretting that the Israelis do not communicate their data.
“
This vaccine is very special, it is a vaccine-medicine.
It protects against severe forms and serious forms, and that has not been said enough
,” he added.
Read alsoCovid-19: what you need to know about Paxlovid, the Pfizer pill soon to be distributed in France
Finally, the arrival of Paxlovid is “
a turning point in the epidemic.
We will be able to implement a new strategy: test and treat.
As soon as one is identified as positive, one takes a drug that heals quickly.
We must not oppose vaccination and medicine
”, he estimated, foreseeing a “
slow start
” and “
side effects, but few
” of this medicine.