The Moderna vaccine becomes the second vaccine to be administered in this age group, after the authorization given to that of Pfizer.
The High Authority for Health recommends that priority be given to vaccinating "adolescents with comorbidity or belonging to the entourage of an immunosuppressed person".
The High Authority for Health (HAS) on Wednesday gave the green light to the use of the Moderna vaccine for 12-17 year olds, which thus becomes the second vaccine to be administered in this age group.
"In the context of a strong circulation of the Delta variant, the HAS validates the integration of the Moderna vaccine into the vaccine strategy", extended to adolescents since mid-June after a first authorization given to Pfizer, announced the public body independent, in a press release.
Priority to adolescents with co-morbidities
The authority stressed that this variant, at least twice as contagious as its predecessors, "leads to a significant increase in the number of new contaminations", with "a number of hospitalizations and admissions in critical care (which) have since been resumed. a few days on the rise ".
The authority has recommended vaccination from the age of 12 "primarily in adolescents with comorbidity or belonging to the entourage of an immunocompromised person" and "in adolescents without comorbidity in order to reduce viral circulation, to normalize their social life and maintain their access to education ".
The objective of the vaccination of adolescents is "to obtain a high level of coverage in all age groups", explained the HAS, in order to increase the threshold of immunity of the population.
"The benefits outweigh the risks"
The authority indicated that it was based on an American clinical study showing "a vaccine efficacy in adolescents of 93.3% in cases of Covid-19". HAS also said it had taken into consideration "real-life international and pharmacovigilance data" from various security agencies, including the ANSM and the European Medicines Agency, which concluded that "the benefits outweigh the risks in adolescents 12 to 17 years old, in particular those at risk of severe form of Covid-19 ".
Following reports after vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine, the HAS nevertheless underlines in its opinion, "the importance of maintaining rigorous monitoring of adverse events occurring after vaccination of adolescents, and in particular cases of myocarditis".
The Moderna vaccine, which uses messenger RNA technology such as Pfizer-BioNTech, has been distributed for several weeks to health professionals "in town" (doctors, private nurses and pharmacists), unlike Pfizer which is currently mainly used in vaccination centers.