Covid, which has been showing signs of recovery in France for several weeks, has not yet disrupted the healthcare system, the public health agency said on Wednesday, noting that indicators remain "stable" but calling for "vigilance."
At the beginning of October, "the syndromic indicators of Covid-19 remained stable at levels that were generally still lower than those of the previous year at the same time, but with disparities according to age groups," summarized Public Health France in a weekly report, the first of the season.
This will be published every Wednesday to give an idea of the evolution of the major epidemics of autumn and winter, including flu and, in babies, bronchiolitis. The latter two are at a basic level everywhere in France (except in the case of Mayotte, which is emerging from a flu epidemic), which means that the situation has not yet left normal.
Only Covid is showing some signs of improvement, with an increase in the detection of the virus in wastewater over the past several weeks.
However, Public Health France emphasizes that the situation remains moderate and is no worse than last year at the same time.
During the week ending October 5, "the positivity rate for SARS-CoV-2," the Covid virus, "was decreasing in the city and increasing in the hospital to levels remaining close to those observed during the same period in 2024," summarizes the health agency.
More specifically, the situation in hospitals is mixed: "The proportion of hospitalizations after a visit to the emergency room increased slightly among those aged 65 and over, while it decreased among those aged 0-4," notes Public Health France.
Ultimately, "even if the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 since mid-July has not yet had a significant impact on the healthcare system, developments remain to be monitored closely over the coming weeks," the agency concludes.
On Tuesday, health authorities, including the Directorate General of Health, explained that there is no "epidemiological" argument to advance the Covid vaccination campaign.
Indeed, this initial assessment comes just days before the launch on October 14 of a combined vaccination campaign against flu and Covid, which will target the 19 million French people at risk of complications, particularly those over 65.
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