Science at UM [S01-ep27]: From the seventh wave to the beach

[Podcast] - Published on July 6, 2022 in Health, Social Issues & Disability, Science & Society

For this latest edition of A l’UM la science avant l’été (Science at UM before summer), Mircea Sofonea, an epidemiologist at the Mivegec laboratory, gives us an update on the seventh wave of Covid. This is an opportunity to look back at how the pandemic has been covered in the media and to discuss the prospects for research.

For the lucky ones among you, in a few days you will be setting off on vacation, while the rest of you will have to wait a few more weeks. To help you pass the time, Divergence FM and the University of Montpellier are offering you this moment of relaxation:

You are lying on the beach. Your fingers sift through the warm sand. Through your closed eyelids, the sun radiates a warm, red light. You can smell the sunscreen. A few feet away, a flock of seagulls fight over the remains of a tuna sandwich left behind by a distracted little girl.

You feel good. You open your eyes and gaze out at the big blue sea right in front of you. Listen carefully. Above the cries of children and doughnut sellers, you can hear them coming. One wave, two waves, three waves, four, five, six... You see it coming... the seventh wave... The one with rising curves, super positive friends who cancel dinner, Juliette's teacher who is still absent, or the plane ticket to Morocco that flies away without you.

After Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Germany, France is now seeing a resurgence in infections. +57% in Europe over the past two weeks. +203% in Malta, +162% in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, +118% in France. I can already hear you saying:

– " Oh no! That's enough, I don't want to hear about it! "

Well, if we talk to you about it, we promise we won't be alarmist, just informative and educational, so that you don't believe everything you hear.

And because we are fortunate to have Mircea Sofonea, epidemiologist at Mivegec and one of France's leading experts on the subject, with us, we will take this opportunity to review how this crisis has changed the work and lives of these researchers, who have suddenly been forced to expose themselves to the media a little more than they had imagined.

At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!

Production: University of Montpellier/Divergence FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Adeline Floch’

Listen to the program “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Science at UM, COVID-19, Health, Company