The 8th wave of Covid-19, which has affected France since the start of the school year, could have “a moderate health impact”, provided that no new strain appears in the coming months. In any case, this is what Anne-Claude Crémieux, infectious disease specialist at Saint-Louis hospital in Paris, believes in an interview with Sunday newspaper.
The first seven waves “were linked to the emergence of variants or sub-variants, hence the very numerous reinfections”, recalls the specialist. “The current wave, on the other hand, is – at least to date – not linked to the appearance of a new strain. »
This is why, according to her, “if no new variant arrives, we can hope for a moderate health impact, on condition, however, of persuading the over 60s to give regular reminders” because “protection against severe forms s fades after six months.
More than 60,000 new cases on Friday
The infectiologist judges that “the very optimistic scenario of an eradication of the virus is excluded”, and that a “endemic-type scenario, with new waves of infections, more marked in autumn or winter as for the flu or other respiratory viruses, seems […] most likely “.
Friday evening, 61,121 new cases were recorded, an increase of 26.6% in one week. The total number of hospitalized patients, at nearly 16,800, has returned to its level of mid-August, according to data from Public Health France.