Key Points

In early 2021, Mayotte faced a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic linked to the rapid spread of the Beta variant. This wave was more severe than the first, with a 72% increase in hospitalizations (1,048 in 2020 vs. 1,048 in 2021) and a doubling of the number of deaths (55 deaths in 2020 vs. 120 deaths in 2021). The peak of the epidemic was observed in Week 6 of 2021, with an incidence rate of 840 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
A decrease in virological indicators was observed starting in Week 6, and by Week 16 the incidence rate had fallen below the alert threshold (50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), followed in Week 22 by a drop below the vigilance threshold (10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). For seven consecutive weeks, all indicators remained below the vigilance thresholds.

Although travel between Mayotte and regions with high epidemiological indicators and marked by active circulation of the Delta variant (Reunion Island, mainland France) is very significant, an upward trend in indicators was observed in week 30 and continues into week 31 in Mayotte. The incidence rate (IR) is once again above the alert threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients have occurred after several weeks without admissions; and a cluster (whose index case was imported) has been identified on the island. Since week S25, the L452R mutation has been detected in samples collected in Mayotte, raising suspicion of the presence of the Delta variant.

Although vaccination coverage remains below the national average and at a level insufficient to guarantee protection of the population, there has been an acceleration in the pace of vaccinations in recent weeks. Between weeks 29 and 31, vaccination coverage in the general population increased by 3.1% for the full course and by 6.3% for the first dose. With the implementation of the health pass and the recent opening of vaccination sites at the CHM and in referral centers, this trend is expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Vaccination is the primary tool for delaying and reducing the intensity and severity of the third wave, which—given the situations observed in other French regions and the context in Mayotte (an increase in people returning from vacation in the coming weeks, insufficient vaccination coverage, and the detection of mutations suggestive of the Delta variant)—appears inevitable. A race against time between vaccination and the third wave is beginning.