Last age group excluded from vaccination against Covid-19, very young children will now be able to be immunized… under certain conditions.
In a message sent to all health professionals on Thursday evening, the General Directorate of Health (DGS) launched the official kick-off of this campaign, one month after the green light issued by the High Authority for Health (HAS).
The Parisian takes stock.
For who ?
In accordance with the recommendations issued by the HAS on December 19, Covid vaccination is open to children "at risk of severe forms of Covid-19", i.e. presenting at least one comorbidity (obesity, diabetes, trisomy 21 , etc.) Several European countries, such as Germany, have adopted the same strategy.
Children “living in the entourage of an immunocompromised person” can also be vaccinated in France, in order to indirectly limit the risk that it is contaminated.
Complete list of comorbidities:
Chronic liver diseases
Chronic heart and respiratory diseases (including severe asthma requiring ongoing treatment)
Neurological diseases
Primary or drug-induced immunodeficiency
Obesity
Diabetes
Hematological malignancies
sickle cell disease
Trisomy 2
Under what conditions?
The agreement of both parents is necessary, "unless it is impossible for one of the two to obtain the agreement of the other parent", indicates the DGS.
On the other hand, the presence of a parent is not essential on D-Day. Simply, the person accompanying the child "must be able to establish that he has parental consent and present an authorization form duly signed by the two parents”.
This is available by clicking on this link.
A medical prescription is essential to vaccinate a very young child against Covid-19.
"The time of the prescription thus constitutes a privileged moment to explain the act and its importance to the parents, to answer their questions and to accompany them as well as possible in the process of vaccinating their child", details the DGS.
Doctors, midwives and state-certified nurses (IDE) can then vaccinate the child.
Clara, 35, wants to vaccinate her 2.5-year-old daughter, who suffered for several weeks last summer after a Covid infection.
The little girl has no comorbidities, "but she inevitably meets immunocompromised people", says her mother, who will try to convince a doctor of this.
Where ?
Vaccination can already take place in hospitals and specialized establishments.
From next Monday, January 23, doctors, midwives and nurses will be able to order their own doses, within the limit of one bottle per professional.
With which vaccine?
Only one vaccine is planned for these very young children, the one developed by Pfizer/BioNTech.
The schedule is three doses: a first on D-Day, a second three weeks later, and a third eight weeks after the second.
Even if the child has had Covid, “the three doses must be taken, to guarantee optimal protection”, indicates the DGS.
But the calendar can be pushed, because it is necessary to wait three months between an infection and an injection.
According to the High Authority for Health, three doses of this vaccine have proven effective against symptomatic infections up to 80.3%, "in all age groups from 6 months to 4 years without a history of infection" .
These data come from a clinical trial conducted in the first half of 2022.
What do pediatricians think?
The French Society of Pediatrics (SFP) is preparing to publish official recommendations.
“The idea would be to stick to the same recommendations as for 5-11 year olds, namely that this vaccination is essential for all fragile children.
As much as this disease is benign for children in good health, it is not so for children at risk”, tells us its president, Christèle Gras Le Guen.
For children at risk, “who are those found in the hospital and in intensive care, vaccination is indisputably recommended”, abounds the pediatrician Robert Cohen.
With regard to children living in the entourage of immunocompromised people, “it is more complicated, because we know that the vaccine does not protect 100% against infection, far from it”, indicates Christèle Gras Le Guen.
Nevertheless, "for some families, it seems obvious to vaccinate children close to very fragile people, for prevention", she adds.
Will this campaign find its audience?
Not sure it attracts many parents.
The Covid vaccination has been offered to all children aged 5 to 11 since December 2021, but only 5% of them have been immunized.
This is one of the lowest rates in Europe.