Key Points

• In Week 52 (December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023), during the second week of school break, total activity at SOS Médecins clinics continued to decline among children aged 2–14 (-32%, or -8,249 visits) and increased among adults aged 75 and older (+23%, or +1,502 visits); activity in other age groups remained stable.

• Across all age groups and driven by adults, SOS Médecins activity reflects the shift of some healthcare services (from community clinics/hospitals) to the associations, with an increase in most of the most common diagnoses, but a decrease in cases for suspected COVID-19 (-30%, or -679 cases) and for influenza/flu-like illness (-34%, or -8,305 cases, with the exception of those aged 75 and older, which continued to rise by 32%).

• In line with the holiday season, most conditions remain stable or are declining (particularly respiratory indicators) among children aged 2–14, with the exception of chickenpox (+50%, or +75 cases). Among children under 2, cases of bronchiolitis are declining, at levels similar to those observed in previous years.

• Among adults aged 15–74, respiratory indicators remain stable (except for pneumonia, up 30%) and there is a marked increase in cases of conjunctivitis (up 44%) and gastrointestinal conditions (acute gastroenteritis up 57% and vomiting up 28%). Among those over 75, the overall increase in activity continues to affect most diagnoses this week and is particularly pronounced for respiratory indicators, which remain at levels higher than in previous years (pneumonia +42%, acute bronchitis and ENT conditions +37%, influenza/flu-like syndrome +32%, asthma attacks +30%) and, as with young adults, for conjunctivitis (+178%) and digestive conditions (acute gastroenteritis +88% and vomiting +26%).

• Finally, regarding mental health indicators, although levels remain low compared to previous years, the increase in cases continues for anxiety across all age groups (+100% among children, +32% among adults) and for depressive syndrome among adults (+12%).