Vaccination pass, BA.2, 4th dose… the details of Olivier Véran heard by the Senate

Hearing this Tuesday, February 22 by the Senate, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran cautiously evokes the continuation of the health crisis and the question of the vaccination pass, among others. The point on his remarks.

Lifting of the vaccination pass in mid-March?

It is precisely within the framework of a “fact-finding mission on the adequacy of the vaccination pass to the evolution of the Covid-19 epidemic”, that the Minister of Health is heard by the Senate’s Social Affairs Committee, to discuss the end of the vaccination pass. Olivier Véran recalls first of all the interest of the tool, which according to him has “useful contribution to the fight against the epidemic“, more than the health pass, which “did not make it possible to prevent the presence of unprotected people likely to develop serious forms in places”. The Minister of Health also believes that the vaccination pass had an impact on the first doses.

However, he remains cautious about his lifting. “If this positive trajectory is confirmed, in particular at the hospital level, we could consider lifting the pass in mid-March in all or part of the places where it applies. indicates Olivier Véran before recalling that “our health system remains very exposed“.

Three indicators to decide

To decide on the lifting of restrictions, the government relies on three elements:

• The number of COVID patients hospitalized in intensive care;
• Epidemic dynamics;
• The incidence rate.

Indicators that therefore dictate the calendar. For Olivier Véran, “we would have to go down to around 1,500 patients with Covid-19 in the sheave, for us to consider that the normal functioning of hospitals is restored “. In addition, the virus reproduction factor R must be “durably less than one”, and the incidence rate to be “fairly low, around 300 or 500 at the most”.

The BA.2 variant, the fourth dose

It was feared for some time, but we now know that the Omicron variant, baptized BA.2, did not create an epidemic rebound, as Olivier Véran points out. “This sub-variant of Omicron is spreading widely in France, it would now represent almost half of the contaminations but we consider that there is no risk that there will be an epidemic rebound of BA.2 “ he reassures.

As for the 4th dose, the Minister remains firm. “The hand will not shake” insists Olivier Véran, who declares that if the question of a 4th dose should arise, the government will not hesitate. For the time being, he is “no need to ask the French for a new injection”but the Minister recalls that the Omicron variant should not be underestimated, which still makes “290 deaths per day, or 10% of annual road deaths”, despite the decline of the epidemic, at the moment. Caution remains in order, therefore.