The anti-Covid vaccination coverage of the elderly is currently lower in the Pyrénées-Orientales than the national average. The Regional Health Agency is once again encouraging the most vulnerable people to get vaccinated before the onset of winter. Why how ? We explain to you.
What level of vaccination in the department?
73.2% of over 80s received their 3e dose of anti-Covid vaccine in the Pyrenees-Orientales against 78.6% nationally. “The level of vaccination coverage for the oldest is insufficient, points out the departmental management of the ARS, which continues to recommend a double fall vaccination, that anti-Covid and that against the flu. In Occitania, contamination linked to Covid has accelerated in recent days, notes the ARS, with an increase in the circulation of the virus, and hospitalizations up 19% in one week in the region. Added to this is the wave of bronchiolitis which is still raging, and the first cases of influenza which have been recorded on the regional territory, even if, at this time, Occitania is not yet in the epidemic phase.
Who is targeted by the fall campaign?
The inhabitants of the department are therefore still in prevention mode. This is why the ARS insists: “TheVaccinations against influenza and against Covid can be carried out in one go and are fully effective two weeks after the injection. For those who are wondering, this anti-Covid reminder now targets the original strain of the virus as well as the Omicron variant. The campaign launched last October, whether it’s a 4e even a 5e dose depending on whether an injection was administered last spring, is aimed primarily at people over 60, residents of nursing homes or long-term care units, immunocompromised people, pregnant women, those around them of all these categories, as well as health professionals.
Is it open to everyone?
To sum up, this fall booster dose is therefore offered to all people at risk and to healthcare professionals, regardless of the number of doses previously received. All that is required is that a period of 6 months has elapsed since the last dose. This period has been reduced to 3 months for the over 80s, the immunocompromised and residents of nursing homes. Finally, anyone outside of these categories can ask to receive a booster dose, unless there is a specific contraindication related to their situation. “A recommendation is not a prohibition for others. So the whole population can be vaccinated. You can do it !“, thus insisted the president of the Committee for monitoring and anticipating health risks, (Covars), Brigitte Autrans, this tuesday on franceinfo.
What incidence rate in P.-O. ?
At the beginning of December 2022, the ARS indicates that the vaccination coverage, all ages combined, is 59.9% for the Pyrénées-Orientales, very close to 60.2% at the national level. With however an incidence rate, which reflects the level of circulation of the virus, lower than that recorded for France: 379.5/100,000 inhabitants in the department, against a national average of 453.7 Covid patients per 100 000 inhabitants. It is however “essential that the oldest and most vulnerable have recourse to the 4th dose“, still recommends Guillaume Dubois, departmental director of the ARS. For this, destination the doctor or the pharmacy.
Who remembers the barrier gestures?
And to insist, like the voices of the Prime Minister or even the Minister of Health, on the importance of barrier gestures. For those who have slept for two years, we remind them once again: wear a mask when you are sick, but also in closed places, crowded places and public transport; wash your hands regularly or use a hydroalcoholic solution; coughing or sneezing into your elbow or into a tissue; blow your nose in a single-use tissue and throw it away; ventilate the rooms regularly.