The number of Covid-19 contaminations in France is stabilizing but the number of people hospitalized positive for the coronavirus continues to increase, according to the latest figures published by Public Health France on Wednesday April 6. In order to avoid too much pressure on hospitals, a fourth booster dose will soon be available for people aged 60 and over, announced the Minister of Health. It will not be mandatory.
A study also reveals that the risk of blood clot formation persists for up to six months after infection with the virus, a higher risk in patients with comorbidities and those with a severe form of Covid-19.
- Opening of the 4th dose to people aged 60 and over
The second booster dose of vaccine against Covid-19 will be open to people aged 60 and over, whose last injection dates back more than six months, announced this Thursday, April 7 the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran. “We will be able to open this second booster dose for French people aged 60 and over if they are six months from their last booster injection”, without it becoming compulsory, the minister said on the radio. RTL. Until now, this dose was reserved for people aged 80 and over, an announcement made by Prime Minister Jean Castex in mid-March in the face of the rebound of the pandemic.
“We know that a booster injection, when you are 60 years old and over, reduces the risk of hospitalization, resuscitation and death by 80%. Even if this risk is lower today than it was with the previous variants and when there was no vaccination coverage, there is a residual risk. We can reduce it by four, so we propose it”, argued Olivier Véran, relying on a recommendation from the High Authority for Health. This measure concerns 500,000 French people aged 60 and over who are six months or more away from their last injection, said the Minister of Health: “During the circulation of the virus, it is as much a reduction in a hospital impact . We know that our hospitals need to breathe.”
- An increased risk of blood clots up to six months after infection
According to a study published this Thursday in the British medical Journal (BMJ), Covid-19 increases the risk of developing serious blood clots up to six months after infection. This Swedish study reveals an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in the leg) up to three months after infection with Covid-19, pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs) up to six month later and a bleeding event up to two months later. This risk is higher in patients with comorbidities and those with severe Covid-19. It was more marked during the first pandemic wave compared to the second and third waves, also underlines the study.
We already knew that Covid-19 increases the risk of serious blood clots (known as venous thrombosis), but we had less information on how long this risk was increased and whether it varied during the different epidemic waves.
- EU health authorities allow second booster dose for over-80s
European Union health authorities on Wednesday gave the green light to a second booster dose of Moderna and Pfizer’s Covid vaccines for people aged 80 and over on Wednesday, but deemed it premature to issue a recommendation for the older population. young. A second booster dose may be given to adults aged 80 and over due to the “higher risk of developing a severe form of Covid-19 for this age group” and “the protection provided by a fourth dose”, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement.
The health authorities, on the other hand, considered that there is currently “no conclusive evidence” within the EU that vaccine protection against serious diseases decreases significantly in adults aged 60 to 79, although they “will continue to monitor data. “If the current epidemiological situation changes and new signals appear, it may become necessary to consider a fourth dose in this age group,” they said.
- Germany waives waiver of isolation requirement in case of infection
The German government gave up on Wednesday, in the face of criticism, to lift from May 1 the obligation of isolation in the event of infection with Covid-19. “It was a mistake for which I am personally responsible. It gave the wrong signal,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters, fearing that this measure ultimately “minimises the pandemic”. The minister of Olaf Scholz’s government announced on Monday April 4 that the isolation obligation, currently seven days before a negative test, would be lifted from May 1.
This decision, taken with the representatives of the 16 German Länder, immediately aroused criticism from associations and the opposition. The end of compulsory isolation “endangers human lives”, had thus warned the social association VdK, which campaigns for access to care. “Clearly, this amounts to contamination of the population, because we are in fact removing all the protective measures”, had for its part alerted the CDU, the main opponent of the ruling coalition. However, the isolation period will be reduced to five days.
- Nigeria lifts most anti-Covid restrictions
Nigeria’s government has lifted most anti-Covid restrictions, including a nighttime curfew and gathering restrictions, imposed at the start of the outbreak in Africa’s most populous country. “The response to Covid-19 has been reviewed, taking into account the reduction in the number of cases and the risk of new variants arriving in the territory, as well as the availability of vaccines” in the country, according to an official document from the presidency sent to AFP on Tuesday.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the country has officially registered fewer than 260,000 cases, including 3,142 deaths. These figures are very low compared to its 215 million inhabitants. But they are largely undervalued, the number of tests carried out being very low. “The curfew imposed between midnight and four o’clock in the morning throughout the territory has been lifted”, indicates this document.