“The Olympics can serve as an accelerator”, warns the High Health Authority

This winter, two thirds of hospitalizations due to Covid concerned people over 75 years old. If vaccination is not compulsory, it is strongly recommended for immunocompromised and elderly people due to the strong mixing of the population which is being prepared.

“We are not immune to an increase in cases” of Covid-19, warned Monday April 15 on franceinfo Anne-Claude Crémieux, member of the college of the High Authority of Health (HAS) and president of the technical commission on vaccinations. Covid-19 is still a threat, particularly for immunocompromised people and the elderly.

A new vaccination campaign is launched on Monday aimed in particular at these populations. It is not obligatory, but strongly recommended. “The Olympic Games can, in the event of an upsurge in the spring or summer, serve as an accelerator”, she explained. According to her, “it’s all the more prudent” that fragile people “most at risk” have “sufficient protection” while a strong mixing of the population is being prepared.

franceinfo: Why this new vaccination campaign?

Anne-Claude Crémieux: The most fragile people, people over 80, immunocompromised people, people who are in long stays remain the main victims of Covid. This winter with a wave which was relatively moderate, with 33,000 hospitalizations, two thirds of these hospitalizations concerned people over 75 years old. And as for deaths, it is still more than 90% of people who are over 65 years old. When we look at people who are hospitalized in intensive care, more than 93% of these people have had a recall that is more than six months old.

“When you give a booster, you very significantly increase the protection against severe forms by around 50%. But unfortunately, without this protection, it will decrease between three and six months.”

Anne-Claude Crémieux, president of the technical committee on vaccinations

at franceinfo

The advantage is that a new booster for spring will once again be able to optimally increase this protection against severe forms.

The last vaccination campaign was not very successful. This worries you ?

The latest epidemic was moderate in terms of health impact because we are already dealing with a population that is highly immunized. The second reason is that we are still dealing with the Omicron family which is a family of variants and sub-variants that are less virulent than the one we experienced in 2020 and 2021. But the virus continues to circulate, even if it rarely circulates today. There are 57 hospitalizations this past week. And we are not immune to what we experienced in 2023, an increase in cases, an upsurge, particularly in the spring, which would be linked to the emergence of a sub-variant which would be less sensitive. to vaccines and population immunity, with what is called immune escape or which would be more transmissible.

Does this campaign have anything to do with the Olympic Games which will take place this summer in Paris?

We would have asked for this reminder even without the Olympic Games, once again, because after six months, we can consider that for the most vulnerable, protection against hospitalizations has decreased significantly. Nevertheless, of course, the Olympic Games can, in the event of an upsurge in the spring or summer, serve as an accelerator. So, obviously, it is all the more prudent that these people most at risk have sufficient protection.

In times of high transmission, shouldn’t the French rediscover the reflex of wearing a mask?

During periods of high transmission, it is entirely legitimate to wear a mask. Of course, when you are one of these fragile people and for anyone who shows symptoms so as not to risk contaminating the people around you. There are inevitably vulnerable people around you when you are in a crowded place like public transport or collective places.

Can giving several boosters cause unwanted side effects to appear?

We have a very good perspective this time with vaccines. Boosters are extremely well tolerated. There are even anecdotes of people who have received more than a hundred boosters and we have not seen any adverse effects linked to these boosters. We consider that these vaccines are truly safe and effective.