“We are heading towards a rather reassuring situation”
The Geneva health authorities provide an update on the hospital, vaccination and testing system. It takes place in the presence of Aglaé Tardin, cantonal doctor and Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi, cantonal pharmacist.
This is the end of this weekly health point.
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Does a child who is vaccinated receive a health certificate? (Required in some countries, for example)
Nathalie Vernaz Hegi: Yes, all vaccinated have the same certificate.
For the moment, all the children who have started the vaccination have only received one dose (and therefore a certificate), because the 21 days have not yet passed. After the second dose, they will receive a certificate.
Should a child who has had Covid get vaccinated?
Does he have to wait 28 days for the second dose?
Should a vaccinated child who has had Covid take a 2nd dose, etc.?
Nathalie Vernaz Hegi:
5-11 years old and 12 years old and over are two separate categories.
5-11 year olds, once infected, there is no vaccination recommendation. Once they have a vaccination schedule (Pfizer), a 2nd dose is recommended.
For those aged 12 and over, the FOPH has just opened the booster dose. It is necessary to wait 4 months after the last vaccination.
Does the average hospital stay change with Omicron?
There is a general shortening of hospitalization: linked to Omicron but also to the outpatient monitoring of health professionals (less demanding criteria to be able to free up beds).
So we still don’t have any data on the long Covid in children?
No, not solid and serious data.
The percentage of serious cases is very low in children: 1-2 cases of inflammatory syndrome.
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: Do not get tested before getting vaccinated, you will not have more side effects.
Repetitive testing in companies is no longer recommended. It will end between February and Easter. This saves us resources for people who have symptoms or who have had close contact with infected people.
Aglaé Tardin: For the moment it is a relief plan that we are building for the next few months:
– we will gradually remove the masks in schools and stop repeated testing.
How can this change of strategy be justified? What about the risks of long Covids?
Aglaé Tardin: We will not be able to take very strong measures in schools for a long time. Schools have been paying a high price for 2 years while children are at low risk of the disease. Children are the first to benefit from relief.
We are heading for self-tests in schools, then we will remove the masks, etc. The virus is not going to go away, we will have to live with it. We will have to tolerate that we become infected. We will eventually have no more quarantines or isolations.
Worried parents can resort to vaccinations. By the February holidays, they can have access to both doses.
Laurent Paoiello, spokesperson for the Department of Health: be careful, our 9-month pass does not necessarily give access to the French pass. It is necessary to inquire about the conditions (sometimes more restrictive) of each country.
The validity of the certificates will soon be reduced from 12 to 9 months, following the federal ruling. How much will thus be due? And has there been an increase in vaccination requests in Geneva as a result?
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: In reality, this concerns few people, because we made the choice to vaccinate the elderly as a priority at the start. The majority of them have since received the booster and therefore have a certificate that is still valid.
Regarding vaccination, a hundred people registered at most, following this announcement.
What do we know about the new ‘BA.2’ variant that could fuel a sixth wave?
Aglaé Tardin: I can’t answer, it’s much too early. You have to wait 10-15 days to have more precise elements, even for Omicron. We want to claim victory, but it’s much too early.
Any news on Covid drugs?
Aglaé Tardin: Nothing new, to my knowledge.
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: Nearly 200 people a day cancel their dose of booster.
It varies between 100 and 500 people. We had big peaks: during the Holidays, for two days, 550 people did not come, for example.
So about 5000 people since the beginning of the year.
We were careful in Geneva: we always adapted our stock to demand. We adjust from week to week. This prevents vaccines from expiring.
How long do positive people have to wait for the booster?
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: The delay is the same, whatever the variant, it is at least 28 days, because the immune system is already solicited after an infection.
Aglaé Tardin: Children are no longer recommended to carry out a PCR if there is a risk of contamination at school. It is enough to isolate the child. On the other hand for the parents around, one recommends the test and the certificate which follows.
Our strategy: Between the February and Easter holidays, we will tolerate that children become infected at school.
Parents who were very worried had time to have their child vaccinated. The others will become immunized by the natural route. If we confirm by February that there is no major risk for children with this new variant.
Aglaé Tardin: We have no closed classes. We do not have students in quarantine unless they live with positive parents. As a reminder, quarantines are now limited to people who live in the same household.
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We have one large number of distributed self-tests in primary schools: 430 classes were subject to self-tests, between January 10 and 20, and 8 entire schools. We distribute self-tests from 2 proven cases in a class, to all the children present and teachers who have been in contact with them.
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74 classes in the cycle were screened as part of repetitive targeted testing. The strategy will probably be changed next week. We are going to set up the system of free self-tests, as in primary schools.
Nathalie Vernaz-Hegi: Some of the parents were in a hurry to also vaccinate their child. There are all kinds of individual situations. Freedom is left to everyone.
Aglaé Tardin: we see that we are in a transition phase. Standardization is expected to arrive in 2022.
It is a choice that is up to the parents. The recommendation is made for children who have chronic illnesses or who live with vulnerable people. For the others, each parent has the freedom to choose.
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