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Anti-Covid vaccine for children under 12: what are the next steps in France?

2021-11-11T10:50:21.780Z


A possible vaccination campaign for the youngest in France would not start before the end of the year at the earliest, said Olivier Vé


The United States, Israel… and soon Europe?

If it does not appear to be a priority at all in the very short term, vaccinating children under 12 could be one of the next steps in the fight against Covid-19.

But this subject raises legitimate questions for some parents and it also becomes one of the battle horses of the "antivax", hence the great caution displayed by the government.

No decision will be taken "before the end of the year 2021, or even the beginning of the year 2022", insisted Olivier Véran Wednesday evening on TF1, while leaving all the doors open.

Abroad, other countries are already launched.

We take stock.

What do we know about the effectiveness of vaccines in children?

At the end of September, Pfizer assured that its vaccine was very effective and well tolerated by 5-11 year olds.

As with every time a company expresses itself through a simple press release, we must always remain cautious.

But the results of the clinical trial, published this Tuesday evening in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirm these good results.

The Pfizer vaccine (low dose) is more than 90% effective against infection in children, with high antibody levels.

In addition, side effects were generally mild to moderate, and arm pain was the most common.

The sample is however quite small (less than 3000 children), and there is still a lack of hindsight.

Regarding the Moderna vaccine, the company announced in turn, on October 26, that the clinical trial carried out on 6-11 year olds had "demonstrated a strong immune response one month after the second dose".

But we still do not have detailed data.

An additional element to take into account: since this product is now banned for those under 30 in France, its future for young children seems more uncertain.

Which countries have already started?

The main one: the United States.

Since the approval of the Pfizer vaccine in 5-11 year olds by health authorities in early November, nearly one million children have received a first dose, the White House said on Wednesday.

That's 3 million of the 28 million eligible little Americans.

More and more pediatric hospitals are offering parents the opportunity to come and have their children “stung” there.

Real-life monitoring should, in the medium term, provide additional data on this vaccine.

Read alsoVaccination of children against Covid-19: why is the American case special?

Another country launched before France for the vaccination of adults: Israel.

On Wednesday evening, the expert committee approved the Pfizer vaccine for 5-11 year olds - except those who have already had the Covid.

The decision was taken by a very large majority, with 73 votes for and 2 against.

According to the Haaretz daily, the bites could start within 10 days, once the health ministry issues its final approval.

"The panel considered that the benefit / risk balance was favorable, especially since children aged 0-9 years represent a third of the contaminations in Israel", indicates to Parisian Cyrille Cohen, member of the advisory board on clinical trials of vaccines against Covid-19.

The context is however very tense, the vaccination of children being rejected by many parents.

“It is normal to hesitate, especially in a situation which has improved a lot in Israel.

The curves do not go up like in France ”, underlines the immunologist at Bar-Ilan University (Tel Aviv).

500 positive cases are reported every day in the Hebrew country, against 10,000 at the peak of this epidemic "wave" in early September.

There should be no obligation on the parents anyway.

Where are we in France?

Everything is in a way suspended from the opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This is due to rule, in December, on vaccination with Pfizer in 5-11 year olds. More precisely "mid-December", according to the Ministry of Health, while the EMA is content to speak of "during December". In the process, the High Authority of Health (HAS) should issue its close recommendations for France.

In itself, the government is not obliged to wait for the European green light if it wants to get started.

The recall campaign for residents aged 65 and over, for example, was launched at the end of August when the EMA had not yet spoken on the subject.

At the time, the HAS had issued its own opinion upstream.

While specifying that this was "conditional on the validation of this booster dose by the European Medicines Agency".

But on a subject as sensitive as the vaccination of the little ones, it is not surprising that the government prefers to wait for the opinions of health authorities.

"We must study whether the risk benefit ratio justifies authorizing it or not", summarized Olivier Véran Wednesday evening.

➡🔴 # Covid19: on the #vaccination of children under 12



🗣️ @ olivierveran: "There will be no decision before the end of the year or early 2022"



📺 Explanations on @ TF1 👉https: // t.co/hxduEPnqL2


📱 # Le20H pic.twitter.com/yjvcPslTb6

- TF1LeJT (@ TF1LeJT) November 10, 2021

A few hours earlier, the EMA had announced that it was also starting its evaluation of the Moderna vaccine, in 6-11 year olds.

A decision is expected "within two months".

Source: leparis

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