Key Points

In week 35 (August 29–September 4, 2022), total activity at SOS Médecins clinics increased among children under 15 (+14%, or 2,051 visits), remained stable among those aged 15–74, and decreased among those aged 75 and older (-7%, or 467 visits).

In connection with the start of the school year, there was an increase in cases among children for most indicators, particularly for asthma attacks (+57%, or +78 cases), which was also observed among adults but to a lesser extent (+14%, or +40 cases). Also among children and adults under 75, there was an increase in procedures for isolated fever (+28% and +15%, or +190 and +39 procedures, respectively) and allergies (+9% and +12%, or +31 and +73 procedures, respectively). Among children, there was also an increase in procedures for respiratory conditions (stomatology and ENT, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract conditions) and digestive issues among 2- to 14-year-olds (gastroenteritis: +21%, or +205 procedures; and acute abdominal pain: +22%, or +58 procedures). Among mental health indicators, there was an increase in procedures for anxiety among children (+24%, or 5 procedures) and those aged 65 and older (+15%, or 30 procedures), and for depressive disorders among those aged 15–44 (+13%, or 20 procedures).

Medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 have declined across all age groups for the 8th consecutive week: a total of 1,796 procedures (vs. 1,991 procedures in Week 34) were recorded (a decrease of 10% in Week 35 vs. 19% in Week 35). This decline is driven solely by adults (-12%, or -202 procedures); among children, it has leveled off (-2%, or -7 procedures). These procedures remain in 7th place among the most frequent procedures for adults. At the regional level, SOS Médecins medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 are stable or declining in all regions except for the Centre-Val de Loire (+50%), Île-de-France (+14%), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+6%), and PACA (+5%) regions. Since monitoring began on March 3, 2020, 445,062 medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 have been performed.