Yves Buisson, epidemiologist and president of the Covid-19 cell at the National Academy of Medicine, estimates Wednesday March 23 on franceinfo that the lifting of the wearing of the compulsory mask indoors has “unquestionably” made too early, on March 14, when we “is dealing with a very significant upsurgeof the epidemic.
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franceinfo: Have we lifted the wearing of masks indoors too soon?
Yves Buisson: Yes, unquestionably. It seemed that this decision is a bit itchy for policy makers to satisfy a large part of the public. But this decision was taken by the general public somewhat as an announcement of the end of the pandemic. However, we can clearly see that this is not the case. The pandemic is not over and we must continue to respect barrier gestures and the wearing of masks wherever necessary, especially for people at risk. They must continue to protect themselves. Insofar as wearing a mask is no longer compulsory, the doctrine must now be changed. Wearing a mandatory mask in public space was to protect others.
“Now that everyone has taken off the mask, people at risk must wear an FFP2 type mask, which protects them.”
Yves Buisson, president of the Covid-19 cell at the National Academy of Medicineat franceinfo
And then, keep up to date with vaccinations: we still have too many people at risk who have not received their 3rd dose, while we are already considering a 4th dose for the oldest.
How do we explain this rebound in the covid-19 epidemic?
There are several reasons. First, there is the relaxation of anti-Covid measures, the main factor, announced for March 14 but well anticipated by the entire population. Second, the fact that the still cool temperatures favor the transmission of the virus. And then, third factor, it is this Omicron BA2 variant which is extremely transmissible, which is sometimes even capable of infecting people who have already been infected with Omicron BA1. We are dealing with a very significant, very rapid upsurge, which has undoubtedly been underestimated. We should not be fooled by the fact that there are not many new hospital admissions or intensive care admissions: it will happen. We know that there is a gap between infections, contaminations and unfortunately, the occurrence of complicated forms.
Are we talking about a sixth wave?
It is an important epidemic resurgence which, perhaps, will be confirmed and can be called sixth wave. Whatever name you give, the main thing is to know what the ceiling will be for this epidemic upsurge. Are we going to reach the ceiling before the end of March, as the Institut Pasteur seems to predict, or will it go further? Probably, it will calm down with the months of April and May, with the return of good weather which, generally, is accompanied by a decrease in the circulation of the virus. We are not yet immune to a new upsurge, even after the summer. It is therefore necessary to maintain vaccination coverage, and for people at risk, maintain personal protection with the FFP2 mask.
Is the lifting of the vaccination pass a mistake in your opinion?
We were very late in the important decisions. The vaccine pass was a very good decision that the Medical Academy had recommended since May last year, and it was only applied in January, when the Omicron wave was coming down . When we apply decisions too late, we say that it didn’t help much, but that’s because they were applied very late.
“The principle of the vaccine pass was above all to encourage people to vaccinate. However, we still have a very large margin of unvaccinated people or people at risk who have not received their third dose. is what worries us.”
Yves Buissonat franceinfo
These are the people who will probably be eligible for hospitalization or entry into intensive care, who will cause the serious forms that will emerge in the coming weeks.