The High Authority for Health has recommended extending the age from which certain children can be vaccinated.
In the midst of a vaccination booster campaign, the French National Authority for Health recommended extending the age of eligibility for vaccination against Covid-19. Previously concerned children over 5 years old; now, some children under 5 years and over 6 months join the list of people who can receive a first injection and eventually a booster dose. the communicated from the health authority added that for this age group, the vaccine concerns only children “at risk of a serious form of the disease and of death”, ie with comorbidity.
More broadly, the HAS also recommended that children of “this age group who live in the entourage of an immunocompromised person or a non-responder to vaccination” receive a vaccine injection. At present, this is not an obligation but a recommendation, but the Ministry of Health very regularly follows the advisory opinions of the HAS, as indicated France info. To justify this decision, the public authority cited figures from Public Health France which lists information related to Covid. Thus, those under 1 year old represent “70% of hospitalizations for 0-17 year olds and 84% of critical care admissions”.
Which vaccine for children from 6 months to 4 years old?
The HAS recommendation targets only one type of vaccine, that of Pfizer/BioNTech, the Comirnaty. Administered in three doses, with a first interval of 3 weeks, then a second interval of at least 8 weeks, it is the first vaccine authorized for children under 5 years of age. Based on international opinions and clinical tests, the health authority highlights “an effectiveness of 80.3% against symptomatic infections”. The favorable opinion of the French authority is more restrictive than that of the European authorities who recommend that this Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be administered to “all babies from six months to 4 years old” considering that “the benefits prevailed on risks”.