the progression of the Indian variant in the United Kingdom worries France

Wednesday, May 26, in a district of London, in the United Kingdom, the French learned that they would have to go into solitary confinement if they return to France. This measure was taken due to the progression of the Indian variant of Covid-19. For now, eight areas are affected by its explosion in Great Britain. They all have one common denominator: their Indo-Pakistani community.

This population was still making a lot of round trips to India in April, when the variant was already rife there. According to experts, this is the source of the spread of this virus in Britain. « You have to realize that this variant only arrived here at the end of March. We had zero cases. And in six to seven weeks, it became the dominant variant. », Explain Christina Pagel, expert in health management and policy. According to a British study, two doses of Pfizer are 88% effective against the Indian variant. Against the English variant, the efficiency climbs to 93%. Now, this variant could prevent the lifting of the last restrictions planned in England on June 21.

So, should we fear this Indian variant? « What justifies these precautions is the transmissibility. It is a variant which has an increased transmissibility », explains the doctor and journalist France Télévisions Damien Mascret on the set of the 20 Hours of France 2, Wednesday. « The English tell us that it is probably 50% more transmissible than the English variant, so we are wary, we take precautions », he adds, before specifying that the vaccines remain effective, « provided you have two doses ».