To be vaccinated or not to be? That is the question. In France, the extension of the health pass and vaccinal obligation to some professions still spark debates. These two measures made by the government to encourage the French to get vaccinate to stop the fourth wave are condemned by some of the French who see it as a harm made to their freedom. Furthermore, there is doubt as for the efficacy of the vaccine and for good reason: among Covid-19 sick hospitalized in France are vaccinees.
So, does vaccine truly enable to relieve hospitals? A study carried out by the Direction de la Recherche, des Etudes et de l’Evaluation Statistique – DREES or Directorate for Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics – issued this Friday July 30, 2021 addresses many answers. To carry this study out, the DREES had crossed screen test-data with vaccinations, coronavirus-related hospitalizations including in critical care between May 31 and July 11, 2021.
According to data collected, non-vaccinees represent most of severe disease requiring hospitalization. They represent 85% of patients hospitalized and 78% of death. For the record, at the end of the study, less than 40% of the French were fully vaccinated, and 47% of them received no injection. Although the vaccine does not 100% protect from the virus, the share of hospitalized vaccinated patients remains limited since they represented only 7% of admissions.
“The recent increase in hospital admissions is caused by non-vaccinees”, the DREES states in their report, yet adding this conclusion could be expanded over time “because of the low number of cases identified over the first period of study”. More recently, interview this Thursday July 29, 2021 on BFMTV, head of La Pitié-Salpêtrière nephrology unit Gilbert Deray said vaccinees hospitalized present comorbidities, which is not the case for non-vaccinees hospitalized.
As for death, non-vaccinees represented then 78% of the dead reported over the study period. The French fully or partially vaccinated then represented 11% of the death. Data showing the vaccine truly is effective although not fully. Furthermore, in another study, the DREES revealed then over the week from July 19 to 25, 2021, positive tests were 7 times higher in non-vaccinees. The latter are 6 times more likely to get hospitalized because of coronavirus.
