Vaccination of all children aged 5 to 11: favorable HAS

During a press conference given on December 20, 2021, the High Authority for Health (HAS) said it was in favor of the vaccination of all children aged 5 to 11 (i.e. 5.77 million children concerned) , corn only for parents who want it : it excludes in fact the fact that this vaccination is compulsory or required and that “conditions for obtaining a health pass“.

Vaccination of children: individual and collective benefits

These recommendations are based in particular on American pharmacovigilane data, the vaccination of 5-11 year olds having started last November in the United States. Among the arguments for the vaccination of this age group (which has already started in France but only in children at risk): direct and indirect individual benefits above all, but also collective. HAS explains that severe forms are rare in children but when there is, they are found in children without comorbidities in 80% of cases. She claims that an increase in severe cases in healthy children with circulating Omicron variant can be expected. She also believes that vaccination could reduce the circulation of the virus and prevent the closure of classes.

If she is aware that this vaccination will have a “minor impact“on the current wave, she says it could have a bigger impact on any subsequent waves”by reducing the circulation of the virus in the general population“.

Vaccination of children: “safe” and “effective”

She recalls that the Pfizer vaccine has very good efficacy on the circulation of variants and the prevention of severe forms. The pediatric dose is “adapted to the morphology and weight of children 5-11 years old“: it corresponds to 10 micrograms, or one third of the dose for adults. The recommended interval between two doses is 21 days, “in accordance with the vaccination schedule of the Marketing Authorization (marketing authorization, NDLR)“. The HAS considers that the benefit-risk ratio of vaccination remains favorable for healthy children on an individual level, although it is less important than that of adults. Regarding the risk of post-vaccination myocarditis , the HAS ensures that the data is “very reassuring“.

Vaccination of children: no obligation

The HAS insists: it wants the vaccination of 5-11 year olds to be just one “possibility offered” to parents. She proposes to “prioritize the vaccination of middle school students (under 12 years old, whose characteristics are similar to those of other middle school students) in order to quickly complete the vaccination campaign for children aged 12 and over“.

It further recommends the performing a serological TROD (in the absence of a known and documented history of Covid-19) before the vaccination to find out whether the child has already been infected or not and limit the administration of the vaccine to a single dose in the event of a positive test. She also insists on the importance of paediatricians and attending physicians in the vaccination process and providing all the necessary information on the subject to parents and children.

Concerning the acceptability of vaccination of 5-11 year olds by parents, this is limited: currently, they are rather unfavorable, but we observe a greater acceptability in parents who have already received a first dose of vaccine (49 %), indicates the HAS.