Professor Christèle Gras-Le Guen says it bluntly: she is annoyed.
In its sights, the lack of courage of adults who refuse anti-Covid serums, thus placing the weight of collective immunity on the youngest.
For the president of the French Pediatric Society, head of pediatric emergencies at the Nantes University Hospital, vaccinating minors, yes, but not at any cost.
You, a pediatrician, will you recommend the vaccine to your adolescent patients?
CHRISTÈLE GRAS-LE GUEN
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Without any hesitation, to all those with chronic disease, likely to have more severe forms of Covid-19.
But for teens who are doing very well, that is to say the vast majority, the answer is more delicate.
They are not, in my opinion, a priority vaccine target, unlike adults who contribute the most to the dynamics of the epidemic.
I rebel that we can consider vaccinating children to overcome the hesitation of adults.
It annoys me a lot!
Do you denounce an “altruistic” vaccination?
Yes, because children have very few severe forms of the disease.
Five deaths were recorded, against 110,000 in the general population.
This vaccination will not be for their health, but for that of adults.
It is therefore essential to be certain of the absence of side effects.
Do we have it?
It is in the process of being formed, quietly.
The first studies, carried out by Pfizer on 2,260 teenagers aged 12 to 15, are very reassuring.
They attest to the effectiveness of the vaccine.
But this number is not sufficient to have guarantees on possible rarer side effects.
Only the return from the field - pharmacovigilance - will be able to tell.
It starts with the United States, which vaccinates on a large scale.
Let's wait until the summer to see how things develop at home.
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"Let's wait," but the injections start on Tuesday.
What to tell patients?
I will say:
Why do you want to get vaccinated?
Because it reassures you, relieves you of guilt at the idea of contaminating the most fragile, makes you feel good?
If so, do it, the risk taking is minor.
But if it's out of obligation, to please the parents, or because you feel like you're taking responsibility for the adult's faults, then don't.
You are speaking directly to the teenager there.
Are you in favor of his “informed consent”, as requested by the National Ethics Committee?
In 2021, it is unthinkable to vaccinate against Covid a child who does not want it, even if his parents would like it.
The discussion should take place with the parents and the teenager.
It is done for other vaccines, such as rubella which is benign except during pregnancy!
The comparison is good except that when we vaccinate young girls or boys, it is also to protect their unborn child.
For the Covid, I say yes, as long as it is not in the place of their elders, otherwise it is very shocking.
And not courageous on the part of the adults.
18, 15, 12 years old, one can imagine one day a vaccination of children ...
It makes little sense. Since the start of the pandemic, we have demonized children, we have seen them as shadow contaminators. They paid the price. Our hospitals are full of children with anxiety, depression and suicide disorders. It is high time to give the child back his place of child, his carelessness. Collective immunity is up to adults to take responsibility for it.