Posted 11 hours ago,
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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
In Portugal, the BA.5 sub-variant of Omicron is by far the majority, and the number of cases recorded every day is increasing more and more. Can we therefore speak of a 6th wave in the land of carnations? Update on the situation with Doctor Gérald Kierzek.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants could reignite the Covid-19 epidemic. In Portugal, BA.5 now accounts for two-thirds of positive cases, according to the country’s National Institute of Health. There, wearing a mask is no longer compulsory – except in health establishments and public transport – but it is recommended in public places.
BA.5 quickly replaced BA.2
In a few weeks, BA.5 replaced BA.2, which had hitherto been the majority, as is currently the case in France. Portugal currently has a record number of 99,800 new Covid-19 contaminations since the start of the epidemic, according to Covid trackers Reuters.
According to specialists, the BA.5 variant is more contagious than Omicron but less dangerous. It can nevertheless affect patients already contaminated with Omicron. Health professionals and the media are concerned about this progression, wondering if the same fate will be reserved for other European countries.
Hospitals are not stormed
For emergency physician Gérald Kierzek, Portugal is not experiencing a 6th wave. “Originally, the vague term referred to hospitalizations, now we use it to talk about contaminations”explains the doctor.
“Hospitals aren’t overrun so it’s not a wave. Let’s stop calling the contaminations of a benign disease vague. Of course there are contaminations, BA.5 is probably more contagious but less virulent”, he pleads.
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“To play down the appearance of new variants while continuing epidemiological surveillance”
For Doctor Gérald Kierzek, the solution is simple: question the screening strategy and stop constantly testing populations. “You just have to randomly sequence a few samples for virological monitoring”he says.
Doctor Gérald Kierzek wants to be reassuring at a time when a resurgence of the epidemic would worry the French population: “We must play down the appearance of variants while continuing epidemiological surveillance, without making the front page of the media. And above all, let’s protect the most vulnerable.”