Factors associated with compliance with barrier gestures and social distancing measures in France.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led many countries to drastically limit social activities. The objective of this study is to describe the factors associated with compliance with protective measures and social distancing in the general adult population in France, between March and December 2020 (first and second waves of the epidemic), before vaccination began at the end of December 2020. METHOD: The data come from the CoviPrev repeated cross-sectional descriptive survey, conducted between March 2020 and December 2022 in metropolitan France. The data collected from March to December 2020 (19 survey waves), from a panel representative of the general population, were used. Three periods were defined: the first epidemic wave (March-April), the inter-wave period (May-June) and the second epidemic wave (November-December). A compliance score was constructed to measure systematic compliance with the five main measures. The association between systematic compliance and different variables (sociodemographic, mental health, level of health literacy, perceived severity of COVID-19, confidence in government, perceived effectiveness of the measures) was described using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models, using the statistical software R. RESULTS: Systematic compliance with the preventive measures changed over time. Regardless of the period, being a woman, being over 50, perceiving COVID-19 as severe, having a high level of health literacy or anxiety were positively associated with compliance. Having a child under 16 years of age and perceiving the measures as effective were positively associated with compliance with the protective measures during the epidemic waves; conversely, having a high level of depression, living alone, not working were negatively associated in the first epidemic wave. Finally, during the inter-wave period, living in an area heavily affected during the first wave and having a high level of education were positively and negatively associated with systematic compliance with the preventive measures, respectively. CONCLUSION: The factors associated with compliance with the protective measures and social distancing evolved during the epidemic. Monitoring this evolution, in order to adapt communication and awareness strategies, is essential in the context of pandemic response.

Vaccination acceptability in the French general population and related determinants, 2000-2021.

BACKGROUND: This study describes the evolution of vaccination acceptability and associated determinants in the French general population between 2000 and 2021, and vaccinations with the highest vaccine hesitancy between 2010 and 2021. METHODS: Data were collected from the nine national 'Health Barometer' cross-sectional surveys conducted between 2000 and 2021. These surveys included French-speaking individuals aged 18-75 years old who were selected through randomly generated landline and mobile phone numbers. Participants were asked about their acceptability of vaccination in general and their vaccine hesitancy toward any particular vaccinations. Determinants of vaccination acceptability were studied using univariate and multivariate Poisson regressions. RESULTS: The proportion of persons who found vaccination acceptable in general (i.e., answering "very" or "somewhat" favourable in the survey interview) decreased from 91.1% in 2000 to 61.2% in 2010 (the latter year coinciding with the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic), increased in 2014 (78.8%), slightly fluctuated until 2019 (74.2%), and increased again in both 2020 (80.0%) and 2021 (82.5%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Irrespective of the year, acceptability was higher among persons with higher incomes, those with a higher education level, and individuals not living alone. In 2021, for the first time, vaccination acceptability was higher among persons over 44 years old (versus 18-24 year-olds) and among retired persons (versus workers). The highest hesitancy rate for a vaccine was for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus in 2010 (41% answering "somewhat" or "very" unfavourable). In 2021, the highest rate was for the COVID-19 vaccine (21%). DISCUSSION: Unlike the experience of the 2009 AH1N1 influenza pandemic, which led to a collapse in vaccination acceptability among the French general population, acceptability continued to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pre-2010 level was not reached. Our results show a tendency towards a widening social and economic gap in terms of vaccine acceptability over time.

Epidemiology of acute gastroenteritis in France from November 2019-August 2021, in light of reported adherence to COVID-19 barrier measures.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, French health authorities have encouraged barrier measures and implemented three lockdowns to slow SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We aimed to examine the impact of these measures on the epidemiology of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in France, from November 2019 to August 2021. We describe trends in AGE indicators from syndromic surveillance and a sentinel surveillance network. Additionally, we describe reported AGE illness data from a community based cohort, and frequencies of adherence to COVID-19 barrier measures from repeated quantitative surveys. From week 7 in 2020, all AGE indicators reached the lowest levels observed since the last decade. During the first lockdown, the median incidence rate reported by the sentinel network was 32 per 100,000 inhabitants, 1.9 times lower than the minimum registered during the 2010-2019 period. Low activity persisted until April 2021. Reported illness from the community cohort mirrored these trends. Adherence to COVID-19 barrier measures was highest during the first lockdown, coinciding with the steep decrease in AGE incidence. Among children under 5 years, AGE incidence increased after the third lockdown in June and July 2021, but remained lower than previous winter-season peaks. Our study indicates that a reduction in adherence to COVID-19 barrier measures, and the end of the lockdowns, coincided with an increase in AGE incidence, particularly among young children. We therefore strongly recommend maintaining adherence to barrier measures in order to in order to limit the transmission of AGE related pathogens.