Infectious disease specialist Benjamin Davido has observed “a 30% increase in Covid consultations in hospital” in recent days and calls for “not to skimp on the vaccination campaign”.
“It’s good news” that the vaccination campaign “be advanced”, reacts Benjamin Davido, infectious disease specialist at the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches, Saturday September 16 on franceinfo, after Aurélien Rousseau announced the day before that it will start on October 2, instead of October 17. The doctor also notes “a period of vaccination exhaustion” after a campaign “which didn’t work very well” last winter.
franceinfo: Are we seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases?
Benjamin Davido: What is certain is that we are once again seeing patients arriving in emergency rooms and hospitals. There is a 30% increase in Covid consultations in hospital this week and 30% of these patients end up in hospital. We see patients arriving who unfortunately are no longer vaccinated. Last fall, the vaccination campaign was not in full swing and we are entering a period of vaccination exhaustion.
How to explain the increase in Covid-19 cases?
Today we see people who do not know that they have Covid because they do not test themselves and who do not isolate themselves with a mask. We therefore find ourselves in a situation where the virus easily finds contaminated air. We are still in summer, the weather is rather good and this unfortunately portends a difficult autumn and perhaps a winter, which requires us to increase our level of vigilance and precaution.
Who is the vaccination campaign which will start on October 2 aimed at?
The objective is a vaccination booster twice a year for those over 80, the 15 to 20 million French people who have comorbidities but also those over 65. Many people must be vaccinated if we want to avoid the probability, even low, of ending up in hospital and potentially having a serious form. We can also adopt the “cocooning strategy”that is to say, vaccinate yourself if you have people around you who are being monitored for a general illness.
We must not skimp on this vaccination campaign and it is good news that it is being brought forward, if we want to avoid unpleasant surprises, such as the return of a triple epidemic with bronchiolitis or a particularly difficult flu, like the last year.