“We must go and find the 2 million over 65 who are not vaccinated”, launches Gilles Pialoux
For infectious disease specialist Gilles Pialoux, today, “we have to go looking for the 2 million over 65 years who are not vaccinated, the million patients who have comorbidities”.
In his department, on 13 beds, “I have 11 unvaccinated”.
Vaccine for 5 – 11 year olds: “the benefit-risk ratio is completely in favor of the vaccine”, says Gilles Pilaoux
The infectious disease specialist Gilles Pialoux was asked this Friday on BFMTV / RMC about the vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds, which he encourages. Asked about the reluctance of some parents, who plead a lack of perspective or the risk of side effects, he replied:
“Give me only one vaccine in the world which we realized very late that it had a side effect. None,” he said, recalling that myocarditis were “short-term effects, very long-lasting effects. short term”.
“The benefit-risk ratio is completely to the advantage of the vaccine, and 25 children in intensive care is 25 children too many,” he also said.
Absenteeism because of Omicron: a “major back-to-school issue” for Gilles Pialoux
Absenteeism due to new Covid-19 contaminations is “a major issue for the start of the school year, which concerns many examples such as school and hospital”, declares the infectious disease specialist on BFMTV.
“It is clear that if you filter out all the positive cases … Me in my department I already have four cases of Omicron, at the scale of a department it is enormous”. According to him, “it is not that the economy will be stopped, it is that the services will be stopped, and the hospital is extremely concerned for that”.
Restrictions: “you have to be clear, very quickly, in January it will be too late”, says Gilles Pialoux
Gilles Pialoux recalled this Friday on BFMTV that France had “not solved the problem of Delta, which continues to circulate, and just above it comes the Omicron wave”. Recalling that the Scientific Council had called for restrictive measures in France to limit the spread of the virus, he declares:
“On the coercive measures we must be clear, very quickly, in January it will be too late” because Omicron will be in the majority.
Omicron “is” gaining the upper hand, says Gilles Pialoux
Omicron “is in the process of” gaining the upper hand over the other variants, said infectious disease specialist Gilles Pialoux on Friday on BFMTV. “The numbers are probably underestimated, because as you know, France has a lot less streak than Denmark and England,” he adds.
“Yesterday in my hospital group, they received 500 samples, and on the positives we were 80% Omicron, so we are there,” he says.
For an infectious disease specialist, “get tested” before Christmas, “it’s a sign of respect and love”
Enrique Casalino intends to set an example. “My children are going to test themselves, my wife and I too” before Christmas Eve, says on RMC the infectious disease specialist, medical director of Bichat hospital in Paris. “We will go to our parents-in-law the next day and we will test ourselves.”
“We assume that testing yourself is a sign of respect and love at the same time,” he explains. “Protect others is proof of loving someone. (…) Not to be tested is to make others take a risk.”
Given the deadlines for PCR tests, the infectious disease specialist now recommends carrying out an antigen test, the results of which are known in 15 minutes. “It has an advantage: if it is positive, that means that you are most certainly a contaminant”, summarizes the specialist. And in this case, “you have to be responsible and give up your New Year’s Eve”.
For Christmas, the French expect to respect barrier gestures less than last year, according to a survey
Despite Omicron, the French are preparing for more “normal” holidays than last year. They are 9 out of 10 to plan to have dinner or lunch with their family on Christmas Day, according to an Odoxa / Backbone consulting survey for Le Figaro – that’s 8 points more than last year.
Compliance with some of the authorities’ recommendations is in free fall: only 48% of French people expect to be reunited with fewer people than during a usual Christmas (-22 points), 42% respect a social distancing of at least 1 meter (-21 points) and 27% wear a mask (-10 points). Almost one in four French people (24%), however, planned to be tested.
The mask becomes mandatory again outdoors in Spain and Greece
Faced with Omicron, some European countries are tightening the screw. In Spain, wearing a mask outdoors becomes compulsory again from this Friday. And the authorities of Catalonia (north-east) have been able since Thursday evening to introduce a curfew from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. in most of the region.
In Greece, wearing a mask indoors and outdoors also becomes compulsory from this Friday until January 2. “There is a lot of movement during the holiday season, and large crowds gather outside,” said Minister of Health Thanos Plevris.
In Italy, the surgical mask will also become compulsory again outside, the government announced Thursday without specifying from what date.
Initial studies suggest reduced risk of hospitalizations with Omicron
Faced with the surge of the Omicron variant, a little note of hope: first studies from South Africa, Scotland and England show that this new variant seems to cause fewer hospitalizations than Delta, the majority so far.
According to the British health agency, patients with the new variant have up to 70% less risk of being hospitalized.
Record of contaminations in France
Hello everyone and welcome to this new live dedicated to the evolution of the health situation. Covid-19 contaminations are soaring across the world just before Christmas: more than 90,000 new cases were recorded in 24 hours in France on Thursday, an absolute record in the country since the start of the epidemic.
For the moment, the authorities are betting more on vaccination than on new restrictive measures: President Emmanuel Macron called on the French to “take care of each other”, in particular through tests before reuniting with their loved ones for the Christmas holidays. end of year.