One dose per year… and two for the most fragile.
Residents aged 80, nursing home residents and immunocompromised people - whatever their age - will be encouraged to receive a new injection of Covid vaccine from Monday April 15, the Ministry of Health announced this Tuesday .
Last fall, vaccination was recommended for those over 65 and younger people with comorbidities.
In total, a third of seniors have received a dose since October.
For this spring campaign, the target is smaller.
This was already the case last year, following the recommendations of the High Authority for Health (HAS).
This new dose of vaccine aims to maintain a high level of vaccine effectiveness, which declines over time.
In its new opinion issued on February 9, the HAS also recalls that “immune protection decreases more quickly for people aged 80 and those who are immunocompromised”.
Any person wishing to be (re)vaccinated can do so, but only certain categories will be encouraged.
Epidemiological indicators at low levels
Each person who wishes to extend their arm again in the spring must not have been vaccinated or infected during the previous three months.
The vaccine used will be that of Pfizer/BioNTech (with messenger RNA) targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant or that of Novavax (with recombinant protein).
It will be possible to be vaccinated in a pharmacy, at your doctor's office, or even by a nurse at home.
Although the epidemic situation linked to Covid is currently “calm”, with indicators at low levels, a new, more virulent variant remains likely to appear.
The HAS therefore calls for “not to exclude the possibility of setting up an earlier or broader vaccination campaign if the epidemiological situation justifies it”.