THE ESSENTIAL
- The start of the influenza epidemic most often occurs at the end of December or the beginning of January.
- Children under the age of two are mainly affected by acute bronchiolitis, a respiratory disease of viral origin.
For several weeks, the cases of Covid-19 have been on the decline. According to the latest Public Health France bulletin of December 18, 37,264 new contaminations were recorded, a decrease of 19.7% compared to the previous week.
Despite the decrease in coronavirus infections, the emergency room remains saturated as French hospitals are also dealing with two other epidemics: influenza and bronchiolitis. “The situation in hospitals is extremely tense, even critical (…) The overcrowding of emergency services has worsened for ten, fifteen days”, explained Professor Rémi Salomon, president of the Conference of Presidents of the Medical Commission for the Establishment of University Hospitals, to France InfoDecember 17.
“We are in an exceptional situation because of this precocity of the flu epidemic”
During his interview, the nephrologist-pediatrician warned of the lack of staff and the number of beds closed in the emergency room. “We don’t know, we don’t know where to place patients who need to be hospitalized, and so that puts us in extremely complicated situations where patients have to wait on stretchers, sometimes for several days.” he said before adding: “The conjunction of several very strong epidemics this winter and a hospital which has a reduced reception capacity makes the situation particularly critical.
According to the numbers d’Europe 1emergency room admissions increased by 93% in the space of a week. “We are in an exceptional situation due to the precocity of the influenza epidemic. We have not seen such a situation since 2009 (…) According to our historical data, between the time when the influenza epidemic starts and when it peaks, it takes five weeks. Expect the upward trend in the flu epidemic to continue at least through the holiday season.” lamented Sibylle Bernard-Stoecklin, epidemiologist at Public Health France, to Europe 1. For the time being, nearly 34 people have been admitted to intensive care in 15 days.
To deal with these three epidemics and relieve emergencies, Professor Rémi Salomon recommended the return of the wearing of masks in public places and the regular airing of business premises.
Vaccination campaigns that are struggling to start
In an interview at Sunday newspaper (JDD), François Braun, Minister of Health and Prevention, called on the French to be vaccinated once morest the flu and Covid-19 to fight once morest the spread of these infectious diseases. The vaccination campaign once morest the coronavirus began on October 3, while that once morest the flu started on October 18. It is now possible to receive both vaccines simultaneously on each arm.
However, the results of the vaccination campaigns are not enough in the eyes of the government. “For the Covid, among those over 80, we are only approaching 30%. It is still too low and that worries me”, insisted François Braun. In his speech, the Minister of Health and Prevention therefore called on all the directors of nursing homes to “Organize the vaccination of the elderly without delay”. As a reminder, vaccination is accessible to anyone from the age of 5.
Asked regarding the failure of this new vaccination campaign, François Braun revealed several causes that might justify it. “This vaccination campaign was the same as the previous ones! But it received less coverage from the media. There is also a certain weariness of our fellow citizens with regard to vaccination. something else. But the Covid is still there, it still kills and we must not relax our efforts. The same goes for the flu. Vaccination is a very important element of prevention. It is a simple gesture that protects”he pointed out.
