Key Points

COVID-19

• Since early January 2022, 317 confirmed severe cases of COVID-19 have been reported by sentinel surveillance systems. Compared to the second half of 2021, the median age and male-to-female ratio are higher. Regarding comorbidities, only the prevalence of obesity is lower. For other comorbidities, particularly cancer and immunosuppression, prevalence rates are higher than in the second half of 2021. These observations indicate that more vulnerable patients have been admitted to intensive care for COVID-19 since early 2022. The maximum ventilatory support provided during the hospital stay was similar between the two semesters, except for oxygen therapy (goggles/mask), which was more frequent, and extracorporeal support (ECMO/ECCO2R), which was less frequent in the first half of 2022. The median length of stay is shorter (7 days vs. 9 days) and the absence of ARDS is more common (14% vs. 6%). These severity indicators should be interpreted with caution (8% of reports received since January have not yet been closed).

• Nosocomial cases admitted since January 2022 accounted for 2.8% of cases (vs. 1.4% in the second half of 2021).

• In terms of vaccination status, approximately 74% of cases admitted in the second half of 2021 were unvaccinated (self-reported data). Of the 289 cases reported since early January 2022, the proportion of unvaccinated individuals is decreasing (63%).

Influenza and Influenza-Like Illness

• After a 20-week epidemic spanning weeks 50–2021 to 17–2022, the influenza epidemic has ended in Occitanie. The season was characterized by an exceptionally long duration of 20 weeks and two epidemic waves, in late December and late March, separated by a plateau. The circulating viruses were almost exclusively type A, with co-circulation of A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2).

• Overall, few severe cases of influenza requiring intensive care were reported this winter season in Occitanie, and these cases involved younger patients and exhibited characteristics suggestive of a less severe infection compared to previous years (before the COVID-19 pandemic).