Figures from the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) reveal that the variant Omicron still burdens medical and hospital services in France, said the MIA correspondent from Paris.

Although "less severe" than the Delta variant or even the original Covid-19 variant, Omicron now represents almost all new contaminants in France: it is detected in 99% of positive PCR tests. In addition, the majority of victims of the virus are now attributed to the Omicron variant, which accounted for 57 percent of hospital deaths for the week of January 17-23.

During the same period, the Omicron variant accounted for 88 percent of conventional hospital admissions and 79 percent of critical care admissions.

However, the vaccine has proven to be effective against severe forms of Omicron, with 75 per cent being effective against severe forms in the population aged 20 and over, and a 90 per cent risk of death being avoided in people aged 40 and over. . "The vaccine, especially with the increased dose, remains protective against severe forms of Omicron," said DREES.

Also, the duration of hospitalization at this stage is slightly shorter for the Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant.

According to DREES, the figures from December 20, 2021 to January 16, 2022 show that unvaccinated people aged 20 or over are particularly affected by Omicron.

Thus, these 8% of the unvaccinated in the French population aged at least 20 years still make up 16% of the positive PCR tests and 39% of the hospital admissions. But above all, they account for 54 percent of Covid-19 critical care admissions and 46 percent of virus-related deaths.