Whereas the eighth wave of Covid-19 is beginning to show the tip of its nose, autumn is also likely to see a return influenza. A situation that worries immunology professor Alain Fischer, who wants to alert the population to a risk of double epidemic.
In an interview given to Parisian this Wednesday, he expresses his fears regarding a virulent return of the seasonal flu. According to him, following two years of barrier gestures, wearing a mask and vaccination once morest coronavirus, the French are “fed up” with health constraints. But a relaxation would be dangerous for everyone.
Do not necessarily wait for the double injection
” The danger [de la grippe] is not well perceived”, regrets the former president of the Council of orientation of the vaccine strategy. “But the reality of the risks forces us to try vigorously to convince the elderly, frail, and pregnant women to get vaccinated. »
According to him, the High Authority for Health should not encourage the population to be vaccinated on the same day once morest influenza and Covid-19, at the risk of wasting time. Indeed, only 40% of eligible people have received the fourth dose of the vaccine once morest Covid-19, in particular because some are watching for the release of the bivalent vaccine (which also targets the variant Omicron).
“I think we shouldn’t wait, especially if we are in the so-called fragile public”, he believes. “We are not immune to the emergence of a new, more virulent variant. However, a Covid-flu cohabitation is nothing to be happy regarding. »
