In an interview with Le Dauphiné Libéré published this Monday, Olivier Véran sounds optimistic as for Covid-19, but yet remains cautious. In the regional newspaper, the Health Minister says France is gaining “control over the epidemic” with the latest health measures implemented by the government. “Thanks to lockdown, as in March, the virus is starting to circulate less” he explains.
To say so, Olivier Véran relies on the latest data shared by Santé Publique France. Thus, this Sunday, the country has recorded a bit over 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, against 86,000 reported ten days ago. Another indicator enabling him to be optimistic? The positivity rate to tests, reaching 16.9% against 20% a week ago.
Last but not least, even though the number of patients hospitalized in intensive care remains high, it is decreasing. Yesterday, 270 patients have been checked in. “There is every indication that we have passed the peak of the epidemic” Olivier Véran claims, yet adding that “clearly, it's too early to say we've won and drop our guard”.
A few days ago, Swiss epidemiologist Antoine Flahault already said France was gaining control over the Covid-19 epidemic again.
During this interview with Le Dauphiné, the Health Minister also speaks about the upcoming vaccine as Pfizer and BioNTech recently declared their vaccine was “90% effective” according to preliminary results of phase 3, naming the last phase before applying for validation. “We'll start to vaccinate people when we are sure that we can do so in complete safety” Olivier Véran reassured people, as some are wondering about a potentially mandatory vaccine.
“If we have the choice between several vaccines, we'll choose those that seem the safest and the most efficient” the Minister added before he went out: “Between now and the start of next year, we could see three or four laboratories asking permission to launch a vaccine on the French market.”
