A fourth coronavirus wave is hitting France because of the spread of the Delta variant. This mutant, more contagious than the previous mutations reported so far, is swiftly spreading within non-vaccinees, seven times more vulnerable than people vaccinated. Now, hospitals report even younger patients, without comorbidities, are checked in. How far?
So far, children were relatively unscathed by the epidemic. But the Delta variant may be changing the game. In Alpes-Maritimes, the Nice Lenval hospital is sounding the alarm. Within one week, a dozen newborns have been hospitalized because of coronavirus. Most children involved are only a few weeks old. 25 babies even tested positive over the same period of time.
Interviewed by France 3 TV channel, head of pediatrics ER at Nice Lenval hospital Philippe Babe cannot precisely explain this trend. Yet, the hypothesis of a transmission from parents to the child is being considered: in most of cases, one of them, or even both, are not vaccinated. These infants - whose fever is the main symptom - must be placed under observation for four to six days.
Colombes Louis-Mourier hospital gynecologist and obstretrician Pr. Olivier Picone - and member of the National College of French Gynecologists and Obstetricians - insists on the fact mothers should get vaccinated even during their pregnancy. As a matter of fact, by getting vaccinated, the mother produces antibodies that will go through the placenta and protect the baby during these difficult times: when they are at the youngest stage. By being vaccinated, there are fewer risks of catching the disease, and therefore fewer risks of developing severe disease and fewer risks of being contaminating, he stated.
