Fifth wave of Covid: bitter Christmas – Liberation

As a week begins, particularly conducive to family gatherings, with Christmas Eve at the peak, the Covid-19 is once again inviting itself to the party. Throughout the weekend, the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, and members of his government provided after-sales service for the measures endorsed during the Health Defense Council on Friday. Ultimate cards have been cut down – like the “vaccine pass” – in an attempt to stem the surge of Covid without blocking the country. Indeed, the latest figures delivered by Public Health France encourage pessimism, with now more than 52,000 new daily cases on average over a week. A figure which should rise further, since the reproduction rate of the virus is currently estimated at 1.2 – each patient infects on average a little more than one person, which increases the epidemic. This, without counting on the still embryonic development of the omicron variant, predicted as possibly hegemonic by the end of January, but which currently only represents 7 to 10% of positive tests. “There is a time when the omicron variant is going to invade the planet”, Confided, Friday, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran. If France is trying to keep a cool head despite an incidence rate never reached since autumn 2020, some European countries are barricading themselves again, such as the Netherlands.

Without getting there, the epidemic dynamic is forcing the government to accelerate ever more the use of its best asset: vaccination. Friday evening, Jean Castex announced that the deadline for the vaccine booster would be reduced to four months, when it had already been lowered from six to five months. Above all, Castex announced the tabling of a bill to transform the health pass into a vaccination pass. “While we have left time, a lot of time, to these French people who had hesitations and doubts, in January we will strengthen the incentive for vaccination, because it is not admissible that the refusal of a few million of French people to be vaccinated puts the life of an entire country at risk ”, justified the Prime Minister.

To go to a restaurant or to the cinema, a simple antigen test or PCR will no longer suffice: you will have to present a complete vaccination schedule. While 77.9% of the population has received at least one injection and 76.3% of the population has a complete vaccination schedule, it is through this pass to force the hand of adults who are still reluctant. The bill is expected on January 5 in the Council of Ministers with an adoption hoped for by the executive at the end of the month. And it promises to be hotly debated. Because, according to Olivier Véran’s own confession, Saturday at the microphone of Brut, “The vaccination pass is a disguised form of vaccination obligation”.

Two-thirds of parents opposed to childhood immunizations

Obviously, the reactions were immediate, in the midst of pre-presidential unrest. From Mayotte, where she was traveling, Marine Le Pen denounced a decision that will “Always in the sense of a greater confinement of the French, of an increasingly heavy loss of our individual freedoms”. Same story for Nicolas Dupont-Aignan or Florian Philippot, who called for demonstrations. On Saturday, 25,000 people marched against the health pass in France, while they were only 20,000 the previous weekend. On the left, only Jean-Luc Mélenchon declared his opposition. The neo-candidate Christiane Taubira, out in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) on Saturday, has bypassed the obstacle, believing that “the government [était] in his role “ by offering the vaccine pass. She then went to a vaccination center, a way to subliminally materialize her support for injections, while her critics mock her ambiguity on the subject.

The other front on which the government is advancing its pawns concerns the vaccination of children. Olivier Véran announced on Saturday that it would be open to 5-11 year olds from Wednesday. “If all goes well, on the 22nd of the afternoon, we will start the vaccination of children in appropriate centers”, he declared on France Inter. The National Consultative Ethics Committee gave a favorable opinion on Friday for this age group, which is not affected by the health pass or the future vaccination pass. It remains to convince parents who are not necessarily excited about the idea of ​​biting their offspring. More than two-thirds (68%) would be against it, according to an Elabe poll for l’Express and BFMTV released Thursday.

Regarding children, Jean-Michel Blanquer ruled out Sunday that the start of the school year is postponed. “School is not an adjustment variable, it is essential for our children, justified the Minister of Education, questioned on BFMTV. It’s the last thing to close. ” By then, the government hopes to have limited the breakage during the holidays. The Prime Minister thus urged the municipalities to cancel their New Year’s Eve events, putting concerts and fireworks in the closet.

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