Everyone knows people around them infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, unless they themselves have been directly affected. This resumption of the epidemic is no surprise. “Throughout the summer, the virus circulated relatively calmly, with surges during large gatherings like the Olympic Games”reports Brigitte Autran, president of the committee for surveillance and anticipation of health risks (Covars). With the start of the school year and the return of the cold season, the circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has begun to increase again.
In fact, the virus has established itself in the landscape of respiratory infections, almost like the seasonal flu. With one notable difference: “The new variants of Covid-19 appear much more frequently than those of the flusays Olivier Saint-Lary, general practitioner and president of the National College of Teaching General Physicians. We are always looking for a new variant. » However, “There are no worrying signs”says Brigitte Autran. This upward trend appears to be “reaching its peak”. AND “The circulation levels of SARS-CoV-2 this fall are well below those of previous years”.
The indicators published by Public Health France (SPF) on Wednesday, October 2, show a contrasting picture. If data from community medicine and hospitals suggest a stagnation of the epidemic, the level of virus circulation in wastewater continues to increase. And despite signs of slowing, the rise in symptomatic infections continues among people 65 and older, the most vulnerable age group.
This age group is the main target of the combined vaccination campaign against Covid-19 and flu, which will begin on October 15. Just like people at risk of suffering from a severe form, because they suffer from a chronic pathology (immunodepression, cardiorespiratory diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancers, mental disorders, etc.), as well as those around them.
Data that should be analyzed with caution
City data, first. During the week of September 23, Covid-19 represented 3.8% of SOS Médicos shares, 0.2 points less than the previous week. For its part, the Sentinelles network, this health monitoring carried out by a panel of general practitioners and liberal paediatricians, also found, this week, a slight decrease in cases between 0 and 14 years of age, stable between 15 and 64 years old and slightly increasing among people 65 years old and older. This slight decrease, however, is part of a clear trend towards an increase in cases since the beginning of September, for those under 65 years of age; and from mid-September for those aged 65 and over.
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