end of the vaccination pass before the summer, circulation of BA.2… Olivier Véran’s announcements

The government is taking another step forward. After the first lifting of health restrictions yesterday, in particular concerning the wearing of a mask outside, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran makes a new declaration to give a horizon to the French on the continuation of the health crisis, for the months to come. .

“The worst is behind us”

The Minister of Health Olivier Véran wants to be optimistic about the coming months, regarding the health crisis. “Nationwide, we have passed the peak of contamination. We are reaching the peak of hospitalizations”, said Olivier Véran. “We did the hardest part of this wave”. Yet the numbers remain high, albeit declining.

Indeed, according to Public Health France, 315,363 new contaminations were identified in 24 hours, against 428,008 cases on Wednesday January 26. Vigilance is also focused on the Omicron sub-variant, BA.2. It is “no more dangerous” than Omicron, according to the minister. However, Olivier Véran assured that he “there are risks of reinfection with BA.2“. To date, there are “between 5 and 6% of the viruses in circulation” in our country corresponded to BA.2.

Control tools removed

For him, the hardest part is therefore done and the tools put in place to control this crisis will be removed: the wearing of the mask indoors “in the spring” and the health pass “before July” he believes. “When we have emptied the intensive care units, and made room for the patients who normally come under the resuscitation, when there will be no more rescheduled care in our country, and if there are no new variants in circulation at At that time, the usefulness of the vaccination pass will be totally debatable. And we can take it down”. Then yes, “the vaccination pass will come to an end, and given the current epidemic dynamics, it is likely that this end will be well before July. Unless there’s bad news”. By bad news, the Minister of course means the appearance of a new variant of the virus.

New conditions for the vaccination pass

The Minister of Health also evokes new rules for the vaccination pass. In order to “benefit from the pass, it will now be necessary for the immune system to have been stimulated at least three times” explained the Minister of Health. “It could be a vaccine injection, or an infection.“.”If you have had one injection and two infections, if you have had two injections and one infection, or if you have had three vaccine injections, you will keep the benefit of your pass without a time limit until a limit is reached. fixed if the situation changes”.

The Minister adds that “4.7 million French people could lose the benefit of their vaccina pass on February 15“, explaining that “7 million French people had not received their booster dose this Wednesday evening”.

At least one in two French people has been affected by the Covid

“At least one in two French people has contracted a form of Covid since the start of the pandemic”, also said Olivier Véran. But the Minister still considers it possible that there is a booster dose in the fall, which could then be coupled with the flu vaccine. “The priority of the labs today is to manufacture effective vaccines against the sub-variant of the initial strain“. As for the vaccination of children under 5 in France, “there has not yet been authorization from the American authorities, so it is not for now. I have no data on this subject that allows me to judge” he concludes.