2023-08-31 04:48:00
That being said, “the most reliable indicator is the virus in the wastewater, the virologist tells us once more. It has shown an uptick since early August, but it seems to be stabilizing a bit now. At this time, it remains difficult to say whether this trend persists or not. The models predict a new peak rather at the end of October-November, but without risk of overloading hospitals.
For Emmanuel André, interviewed by our colleagues from RTBF, the current situation is not surprising or even worrying given that “our collective immunity remains very good, and strengthens each time a new variant appears” .
In this regard, we can now speak of “soup with a mix of variants that come and go, says Dr. Van Gucht. This development is interesting for virologists, but should not worry the general public”.
Wearing a mask in some hospitals
If, for this specialist, “worry is really not necessary at this stage”, we must nevertheless remain vigilant, as evidenced by the situation of certain hospitals in the country. To date, “a dozen Covid cases have been identified in our three hospitals at the CHU UCL Namur, explains for his part Professor Benoît Rondelet, group medical director. Three services are mainly affected: geriatrics, oncology and rehabilitation, that is to say in the units where patients are most vulnerable. To protect once morest ‘droplets’, standard measures have been taken to limit the spread. Namely the isolation of patients, the wearing of targeted masks in these units… That said, there is in no way a question of a crisis or a situation like those known previously. Covid is now considered like any other common disease and the measures taken are similar to those in the event of an influenza epidemic.
This increase in the number of cases, perhaps due to the proximity to the situation in northern France, where the wearing of masks has been reinstated, is however not observed in the main Brussels hospitals that we contacted, which these are Erasme, Bordet, the Children’s University Hospital (HUDERF). Or even Saint-Luc University Clinics: “Currently, only three patients have really been hospitalized for reasons of Covid-19, let us know Sylvain Bayet, in charge of press relations. A few patients (regarding ten) were discovered (Editor’s note: with a Covid infection) by chance when they were admitted for another medical reason or during their hospitalization. They are isolated and carefully monitored. In any case, there are no signs of seriousness: no patient has been hospitalized in intensive care due to Covid. Emergency patients are also made aware of wearing a mask in the waiting room in the event of fever, cough or flu-like symptoms.
Soon the new vaccines
The clusters that have appeared in recent days are not surprising, to hear Dr. Yves Van Laethem, infectious disease specialist. “The precautions taken in certain hospitals are aimed above all at avoiding nosocomial transmissions, the doctor tells us. Better to wear the mask a little earlier than a little too late. But we are not yet in a situation where we must generalize the wearing of masks in hospitals. To have a really significant increase in the number of cases, it will probably be necessary to wait a few more weeks. Hopefully it will just be a classic little fall upsurge then.”
The new vaccines expected for the second half of September should be timely. “It will then be necessary to vaccinate the target groups. These new vaccines are adapted to the main variant in circulation in recent months. We are therefore getting closer to the current variant. For vulnerable people, who have not been vaccinated for regarding ten months now, this reminder will be necessary”, insists Dr. Yves Van Laethem.
How to explain the differences in immunity?
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