Aglaé Tardin: “I absolutely recommend the vaccination of children”
The number of positive cases never yet reached puts the Geneva hospital system under severe pressure. Follow the 70th health point live in the presence of Adrien Bron, Aglaé Tardin and Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi.
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The cantonal doctor recommends vaccination for all children
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Nearly 20,000 people are currently positive and therefore in isolation
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Nearly 3,000 people test positive every day in Geneva
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The third dose of vaccine protects very partially against a new infection (30%) but protects 70% against a severe infection
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The army will once again provide assistance to the HUG, starting this week
The press conference of the health authorities is drawing to a close.
Thank you and good day.
If a person makes a positive antigen test in a pharmacy / center, then a confirmatory PCR, which also turns out positive, is it only counted once officially?
aglaé tardin: Yes quite.
When does the vaccination of children take place?
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: The vaccination of children takes place on Wednesdays for the moment but according to the needs, the demand, we will expand the capacities. A weekend offer is under discussion.
Has someone who had Covid, who was vaccinated for one dose, and then caught Covid again naturally been boosted?
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: “You must respect a latency of one month between the last contamination and the vaccine. But remember that these people have a certificate of immunity. This certificate is also valid in France for the measures in place from January 15. ”
How is serology measured?
aglaé tardin: “The results indicate whether the serology is positive or negative. The calculation technique depends on the laboratories. The certificate of healing is issued by the laboratory directly and is valid for three months and only in Switzerland.
It is not the laboratories that decide the threshold, but they choose where they get their serology / brands.
It is not the threshold that changes between laboratories, but the interpretation. It is therefore with the laboratories that it is necessary to see in case of dispute of the result. “
Last summer, people were unable to get their infection recognized after antigen tests. Has that changed? Same question for the serologies.
aglaé tardin: “No, still no issuance of the certificate on the sole result of an antigen test. This calls into question the tool that is the certificate… ”
How are positive cases, tests and vaccinations counted?
aglaé tardin: “We count among the positives the residents of Geneva. In our table, there is also the number of people tested in Geneva, regardless of their place of residence. But, for example, the Genevans tested in Valais are not counted the first days, but then appear within 3-4 days. “
Could contact case tracking be abandoned in Geneva, contrary to the federal ordinance?
Adrien Bron: “Yes, we are already abandoning contact-tracing. It was limited to the person who lives under the same roof or those who have relationships with. This does not apply to people who have been cured or vaccinated for less than four months. ”
aglaé tardin: “Yes, it’s up to positive people to contact the people they have seen, other than those who live with them, in the home.”
Mme Tardin recommends vaccination for all children. This was not the case a few weeks / months ago, what has changed?
aglaé tardin: The study results are reassuring. More time passed and more children were affected. We have more perspective and the data from the studies are reassuring.
Have some health workers ever returned to work when they test positive?
aglaé tardin: Several dozen hospital employees have already returned to work (editor’s note: even if affected by the virus).
Will the army be called in to reinforce the HUG and the Imad?
Adrien Bron: “Yes, the request was made for hospital missions this week and for a month, around thirty soldiers will be mobilized.”
Adrien Bron: «No, we organize ourselves so that we don’t have to sort it out. But that does not mean that there is not already a significant deterioration in the provision of care. “
Is Omicron a sign of the end of the pandemic?
aglaé tardin: “We are undoubtedly heading towards normalization (living with the virus) but we are facing walls, obstacles to be overcome in the coming weeks. We are moving towards a resolution of this crisis. ”
Adrien Bron: “We have had great difficulty in accessing healthcare, especially in recent weeks. Let’s be careful, we hope for all the best scenarios, but for two years they have rarely come true. ”
Symptoms appear to be different from those due to the Delta variant. What is it?
aglaé tardin: “It seems that there is less loss of taste and smell with Omicron and more people with sore throats, like a sore throat, and less like a bad cold. This information should still be taken with a grain of salt. ”
Do you recommend the broader vaccination for children?
aglaé tardin: «I would absolutely recommend it. The results are convincing and not much is known about long-term Covid in children. ”
How to explain this so low rate of vaccinated children when in theory they would be around 30,000 in the canton?
Nathalie Vernaz Hegi: “For children, the OFPS recommends vaccination when they are carriers of a vulnerability factor and for children who have a vulnerable person in their environment. Fortunately, they are few at that age. ”
Are deaths and hospitalizations of people in nursing homes increasing?
aglaé tardin: “We have continuous clusters in nursing homes: between 5 and 10 nursing homes are currently concerned. This is still a fairly modest number. ”
Should we prioritize the analysis of tests for symptomatic people over those for travel or outings (2G +)?
aglaé tardin: “If it were possible to prioritize, that would make sense for health reasons. But it is absolutely unethical to exclude part of the population. Moreover, without economic support, these places (cultural, nightclubs, etc.) would be condemned. But from a health point of view, this question arises in an acute way. We hope for rapid responses from the FOPH and Bern. ”
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