The flu epidemic, which usually lasts 10 to 12 weeks, has intensified in recent days with “exceptionally high” hospitalizations compared to previous seasons, according to Public Health France. Hospitalizations which further saturate the various services, all caused by a serious lack of vaccination for the most vulnerable.
After a trip to the emergency room, patients who need to be hospitalized are not, due to lack of space in specialized departments, which were saturated even before the start of the flu epidemic. Some patients can die, deplores Agnès Ricard-Hibon, emergency doctor and spokesperson for the Samu-urgence union in France.
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“These patients stagnate in emergency departments. And that’s what is dangerous. Because we know that when these fragile patients stagnate on a stretcher, there is an increase in mortality of 40%. And there, we turn a blind eye to excess daily mortality,” she says.
“We have had around thirty cases and I have not seen any vaccinated patients”
Deaths that could be avoided thanks to better anticipation of bed needs during an epidemic. This year, hospitals are particularly saturated, perhaps also because of a slackening of vaccinations. 80% of patients in intensive care are not vaccinated.
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“For example, we have had a good thirty cases and I have not seen any vaccinated patients,” declares Bruno Mégarbane, head of the intensive care unit at Lariboisière hospital in Paris. Intensive care units which risk being even more congested in the coming days, while the peak of the flu epidemic has still not been reached.
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