Fighting in Bacalan. All major residents of this region in northern Bordeaux will receive a free pass for rapid and unconditional vaccination, following the recent discovery of a Covid-19 variant calling for health authorities.
At the end of the week, as some public places reopened and the mood was gradually returning to normality, a group recalled the good memories of the people of Bacalan. Dozens of them tested positive for this “very rare” type, which the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Health Agency issued a warning on Friday.
The alternative is rare however A priori Can be controlled
This variant of Covid-19, called VOC 20I / 484Q, appears to have appeared “based on the British variant,” notes Benoit Ellebody, ARS Director Nouvelle-Aquitaine, speaking on Saturday morning on BFMTV. Problem: He got an additional mutation (E484Q) suspected to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, according to French Public Health.
“It’s a mutation that indicates it will be more transmissible. At the moment, that hasn’t been proven yet, but the nature of the mutation that has been discovered strongly suggests that,” Benoit continues. To find out more, the National Center for Respiratory Infection Virus (CNR) in Lyon is conducting a “more detailed whole genome analysis” for this variant.
On Friday, Patrick Dahil, Medical Director of ARS Nouvelle-Aquitaine, described “a variable that has already been identified nationally but is very rare so far.” Its scarcity and level of transmissibility has led to it falling into this category The alternative to anxiety (VoC), which is of concern, in addition to the English and Hindi variants.
On Friday, Patrick Duhail said he was rare but had never heard of it before, as he had “also been seen in Ile de France.” However, “it has expressed itself very little so far both nationally and internationally,” and according to him, “such a group was never born” in the general population.
How many people are infected and do they have a specific profile?
On Friday evening the number 46 was announced. On Saturday morning, the director of ARS on BFMTV reported that “50 people” had been injured. The comprehensive population screening began on Friday in Bacalan, with approximately 260 people. But those results aren’t expected until early next week, which could push the bill even higher.
Things get tricky when it comes to learning more about how the variable spreads. “Today, the 50 cases come from two original cases, and this is called two series of contamination,” as Benoit Ellebody defines, which means that many outbreaks have emerged clearly. According to our colleagues from France Blue GirondeFamily reunification over the weekend of May 8 is believed to be the source of the virus outbreak. Ten children tested positive at the Charles Martin School, which was closed.
Of the “50 cases” that were discovered, there are reassuring similarities: none of these positive cases were vaccinated, the director of ARS said, and “none had been hospitalized.” “They have the usual symptoms or they have no symptoms,” he says. Patrick Duhail indicated the day before that, “We have no reason to believe that these cases will be more serious and that this alternative is resistant to messenger RNA vaccines” such as Pfizer or Moderna.
Several measures have been taken since Friday, the last of which is coming
“Since it’s a mutation that contaminates a lot, we’ve put in place a whole bunch of screening, tracking and sooner vaccination procedures to prevent the spread of this variant,” says Beno Elt Elleboode on BFMTV. On Friday, a temporary examination center was hastily set up in Point du Jour town hall at 58 Josef Brunet, in the heart of the Bacalan district.
This center would have made it possible to hold “over a hundred” shows on Fridays, according to ARS director Nouvelle-Aquitaine. In addition, “the health insurance has deployed dozens of people to question contact cases and conduct contact tracing and tracing” on the site.
To avoid any outbreaks, ARS plans to ramp up the pace “from next week”: “We will be boosting vaccine doses at surrounding vaccination centers, sending and delivering the Moderna vaccine so that they can vaccinate the population, (…) opening an ephemeral vaccination center,” explains the director Center. Thus, 19,000 additional vaccine doses (Pfizer and Moderna) will be delivered within three weeks (not the 15,000 as initially announced), including 5,000 the next week.
The rapid expansion of vaccination of all adults could follow in Bordeaux. However, vaccination to stop this spread – the vaccination takes effect several days after the first or second injection depending on the serum – leaves some internet users wondering.
Should we be worried?
For now, this mutant is calling Covid-19 for caution but not for concern. Above all, he remembers that the pandemic is not over and that barrier gestures must continue to be respected, as penned by some scientists concerned about an early launch.
“We are not worried and the population does not have a reason for that, but it is an opportunity to remind people that the virus is still spreading and that lifting restrictions should not be considered a return to health. Life is by no limits,” noted Patrick Duhail Friday. The latter fears that Bordeaux residents are “relatively naive about the virus” in an area where he remembers that “herd immunity is very low at the moment.”
For his part, Beno Elt Elleboode also wants to be reassured about the clinical severity of the variant. “We have no indication of seriousness, on the contrary, because all people (…) who were tested positive are rather young people who have not been hospitalized, and have no serious forms, and if they are young it is suggested that the elderly who have been vaccinated They have been protected from this alternative. ” Asked before Franceinfo“There are indications that this alternative is not resistant to vaccination, as it appears that the elderly (…) have not been contaminated with this variant virus,” ARS Director Nouvelle-Aquitaine confirmed. The following examination results and in-depth analyzes carried out by the Lyon Laboratory should allow all this information to be invalidated or confirmed.