The epidemic is indeed back in France. On June 17, 2022, all the indicators are again in the red. A new wave seems inevitable. The fault is a growing distribution of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which are particularly contagious, and a certain relaxation in terms of barrier gestures.

And then, despite the significant vaccination coverage of the territory, (on June 16, 2022, 81.24% of the inhabitants had received at least one dose), for many French people, the last booster dose is starting to date… However, we now know that the vaccine against Covid-19 tends to lose effectiveness over time.

So, should we expect even more significant contamination? Scientists fear it. They recently issued new recommendations that could redesign the government’s vaccination strategy by the start of the school year.

The situation is worrying as the summer holidays approach. Will it be necessary to take out the vaccination pass, and undergo a new injection for it to be valid again?

For now, the government wants to be reassuring. But scientists, less. For them, the epidemic is far from over, and each new generation of the virus is transmitted faster than the previous one.

For its part, the High Authority for Health (HAS) predicts that the epidemic will evolve in successive waves, and the arrival of new variants, some of which, if they are particularly formidable, could sign the return of restrictions (wearing mask, gauges, new vaccination campaigns, etc.).

On June 22, a new bill will be presented to deputies. It aims to establish the government’s health strategy beyond July 31, 2023.

Fourth, fifth dose… Discover the other measures that could be taken to stop contamination.

A college of American experts who met on Wednesday June 15 recommended the injection of a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine from 6 months of age, based in particular on clinical trials, carried out on 6-month-old children. at 5 years by the two laboratories, which claim to have conclusive results.

The US Medicines Agency must now look into the matter.

In France, vaccination against the coronavirus is only recommended and open to children from the age of 5. It remains optional, and above all, adapted.

But it is not excluded that the High Authority for Health (HAS), the National Advisory Council on Ethics (CCNE) and the Orientation Council for Vaccine Strategy (COSV) will review their opinions in the coming months, especially if the contaminations continue to fly away.

The authorities have already decided to extend the fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to people over 60, with or without comorbidity.

But the measure, which is for the moment only a simple recommendation, would not meet with great success for the moment: in Franche-Comté, for example, only 9.2% of those over 60 have received this second reminder, reports the Republican East.

But faced with the resurgence of the epidemic, new measures could be taken in terms of vaccination strategy in the fall.

Because, as we know, the protection of the vaccine decreases over time. And for most French people, the last injection was already several months ago.

If you are already affected by this second booster dose, you can consult the government platform “My anti-Covid vaccine reminder” to determine the date on which you can make an appointment.

The injections are linked and look alike… After the second booster dose, the scientific community is currently working on the usefulness of a fifth dose, especially in the most fragile. It could see the light of day from the start of the school year.

In any case, this is what the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) recommends in a press release published on May 25.

The experts do not exclude “that the circulation of the virus intensifies periodically” and invite the authorities to “build now a vaccine strategy ready to be deployed in the months to come.”

Because for the HAS, we can expect new waves of the epidemic in the future, but these should be “less and less serious” according to specialists.

In this sense, only people “most at risk of a severe form” could therefore be subject to the periodic injection of a new booster dose.

But the probable arrival of a formidable new variant could also be a game-changer for the general population. “It is therefore necessary to be ready to anticipate the pessimistic scenario for which a large-scale vaccination campaign should be quickly organized”, continues the HAS.