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In its latest opinion dated July 19, 2022, the group of scientists wonders about the epidemiological situation this fall, the effectiveness of current and future vaccines, and the fragility of hospitals.
Created in an “emergency” health context on March 10, 2020, the Scientific Council, made up of 16 specialists, will soon bow out – on July 31. But first, the committee issued its latest health recommendations for learning to live “with” the variants.
“Living with the virus”
First good news: in terms of mortality, France has a better record than neighboring countries with an excess mortality of 63 per 100,000 per year, compared to 73 for Germany, 109 for the United Kingdom, 111 for Spain, and 133 for Italy.
But that doesn’t mean the pandemic is over:We can expect the appearance of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the human population.”says the Council.
Nevertheless, the virulence of the virus will probably continue to decrease thanks to the “booster doses and natural infections”which gives hope for increasing protection against severe forms of Covid-19.
In fact, a new strategy, which requires “living with the virus” is taking shape.
“It leads to limiting virus circulation through voluntary measures, such as respecting barrier gestures, wearing a mask, limiting collective constraints as much as possible (…) In this strategy, efforts focus on prevention and treatment. early stage of people at risk of severe forms of the disease”say the scientists.
When the viral circulation is deemed “too important”, the researchers recommend making it compulsory to wear a mask in certain confined places, such as public transport.
They also insist that the various measures taken in the future must “be proportionate to the situation and limited as much as possible in time”.
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Invest in air purifiers to fight Covid-19
In their report, the researchers also call for preparing for the future. Weekly screening by saliva sampling, sequencing of variants thanks to the monitoring of wastewater… and air purification.
“In the longer term, it is important to invest now in other types of innovative measures, in particular measures allowing the quality of indoor air to be improved in a sustainable way (…) These investments make it possible to reduce not only the risk of viral or bacterial respiratory infections, but also allergic conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular or respiratory conditions associated with the inhalation of particles, and the inhalation of potentially toxic volatile organic compounds”note the researchers.
They also insist on the fact that the local authorities must adopt these measures and that they are above all accompanied by the State.