This is one of the questions that the executive wants to resolve by the start of the school year: will it be necessary to offer a vaccine booster against Covid-19 to certain categories of the population?
"
For most people, the vaccine is still effective nine months after the first injection,
" said the Ministry of Health at a press briefing on Tuesday.
In the longer term, the situation is less clear: “
we are not completely certain for a year after
” the first injection, we added.
Read also: Covid-19: are vaccines less effective against the Delta variant?
The first “
arbitrations
” on the target population are expected “
in principle
” next week.
An opinion from the High Health Authority on this point is then hoped for by "the
end of August
": it will allow "
to have the overall plan for the third dose
", qualified as "
vaccine booster
" by the executive.
The target population has not yet been defined, but it will be "
possibly necessary to revaccinate people at very high risk of severe forms, nursing home residents, people aged 80 and over
" underline.
This new campaign could take place quickly, "
from September
", depending on the recommendations of the High Authority for Health, in order to ensure that the most vulnerable individuals remain protected against the epidemic.
Vaccines remain more cost-effective than tests
Bercy then returned to the increase in the price of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, unveiled by the media this weekend. Three criteria explain this development: the volumes ordered, the delivery schedule, and the “
specific clauses on variants
” against which the products must be particularly effective. The order carried out on a European scale made it possible to mitigate the rise in prices, by playing on the large volume, noted the Ministry of the Economy. But "the
earlier [...] we want to be delivered, the higher the price
". In addition, the laboratories are committed to providing effective vaccines against the variants, a commitment that increases the bill.
Without citing a specific figure, contractual secrecy requires, Bercy specified that the increase would apply "
from December 2021 for Pfizer
", with the first deliveries planned under the Pfizer-BioNTech 3 contract, concluded by the European Commission last May. The price of the Moderna vaccine will change with the Moderna 2 contract. "
The margin rate on anti-Covid vaccines for Pfizer is significantly lower compared to other products delivered and sold in similar quantities, that is to say in billions of units
”, assured a representative.
"
It will be a product [...] adapted to variants, it is one of the requirements that the European Union poses in its negotiations
", defended the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Monday, on RFI. Clément Beaune added that the delivery schedule was "
more precise
", and that the laboratories would have to pay "
financial penalties
" if they did not respect their commitments.
The Ministry of the Economy also considered that these additional costs for the public authorities remained largely acceptable and beneficial, both from a health and economic point of view.
The cost of vaccination must be "
compared to the multiplication of PCR tests
", it was argued, from a "
strictly accounting
"
point of view
.
An antigen test costing 25 euros to Medicare, and an RT-PCR a little less than 50 euros, the recent explosion in the number of tests has a massive weight for the state wallet.
Bercy had also planned a larger budget for tests than for vaccines this year.
Despite their price increase, vaccines are therefore more profitable than tests.
Seven million more first injections to be performed in August
The vaccine campaign is ongoing in France, and "
the slogan of general mobilization has of course been heard by the actors
", greeted the Ministry of Health. 2.4 million appointments for a first injection are scheduled to date for the entire month of August on Doctolib. In addition, 900,000 appointments are available “
over the next two weeks
”. Opposite, the supply will be greater than the demand, it was assured: 22 million doses are expected by the end of the month, enough to honor all the appointments of the first and second injection.
Unsurprisingly, a strong acceleration has been noted since the presidential address of July 12. Now, more than 84% of people over 50 have received at least one dose, as have more than three-quarters of people with co-morbidities. To date, "
out of 58 million eligible French people
" aged 12 and over, "
42.9 million have received at least a first injection, and 35.7 million have a complete vaccination schedule
": therefore remain seven million injections to be achieved to cross the threshold of 50 million by the end of August.
A "
slowdown
" in the number of slots reserved daily for a first injection has been noted in recent days on Doctolib, but the government remains confident: "
there is no difficulty in filling the slots in the centers, nor of concern
”, declared a representative, judging that this decrease did not call into question the objectives set for the end of August. Likewise, the few tensions observed at the local level on the supply of doses remain punctual and measured, it was judged, including in tourist areas.
Among the affected populations, nearly four in ten minors aged 12 to 17 have already received their first dose, ie “
two million
” people. Encouraging dynamics, welcomed the ministry. Conversely, the campaign is progressing slowly for the octogenarians, a situation which can be explained by the “
digital divide
”, and the “
greater difficulties of access
” for this not very mobile population. The executive sees in "
home vaccination
" a potential avenue for improving coverage among the elderly, a solution "
technically possible [...] but less easy to implement
". The progression is therefore slower than for the other age groups.