What French parents think about the vaccination of 5-11 year olds

• While the anti-Covid vaccination is open to people over 12 in France, the United States opened it last Tuesday to children aged 5 to 11.

• An expansion of the vaccine target which concerns 28 million young Americans.

• In France, such a measure is not on the agenda.

  But whether they are in favor or against it, many parents and readers of

  20 Minutes

  already have a clear opinion on the question.

Will we do like the Americans? Since Tuesday, the anti-Covid vaccination has been open to children aged 5 to 11 in the United States, or 28 million young Americans now eligible. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) officially recommended that same day injections of Pfizer's vaccine for this age group, after authorization granted a few days earlier by the United States Medicines Agency (FDA ).

The vaccination "will allow parents to put an end to months of worry for their children," said US President Joe Biden after the announcement, hailing an "important step forward" and a "turning point" in the fight against the pandemic.

And in France, should we prepare for this eventuality, while the epidemic is starting again and the mask returns to school this Monday in 39 departments where the incidence rate is climbing again?

Such a measure is not currently being considered by the health authorities.

But the readers of 

 have already thought about the question and give us their clear opinion.

"Yes, to allow the children to become carefree again"

According to a survey presented Tuesday by the CDC and conducted in September in the United States of 1,000 parents, 57% said they would "definitely" or "probably" vaccinate their child. A choice approved by some of the readers of 

, who would make the same choice if they had the possibility. Like Pascale, who would be ready to have her 10-year-old son vaccinated. "For his freedom, to no longer close school, to no longer have to put on the mask, and to allow the children to become carefree again," she explains.

An opinion shared by Charles: “We had our son vaccinated from his twelfth birthday!

So, if the vaccination is extended, we will vaccinate her 9-year-old sister without the slightest hesitation!

For comfort so as not to have to do any tests for the holidays, but also as a precaution.

We trust the doctors, and believe that the vaccination is an opportunity for us ”.

And "it's a very good thing to think about vaccinating our children," adds Amandine, mother of four children aged 19, 16, 13 and 10 years old.

My husband and I had the big three vaccinated as soon as possible.

And we look forward to getting our 10-year-old son vaccinated.

We have confidence in science and as long as children are not vaccinated, the virus will continue to circulate ”.

A different health situation

If the anti-Covid vaccination has been opened to 5-11 year olds in the United States, it is because more than 1.9 million cases of Covid-19 have been identified there in this age group, requiring more than 8,300 hospitalizations, and causing more than 2,300 cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS) and around 100 deaths. Alarming figures which can be explained by another epidemic which has been raging for a long time in the United States and which does not spare children: obesity, which represents a significant risk factor for developing a serious form of Covid-19. This measure therefore aims to protect the youngest from the coronavirus while promoting the reduction of the transmission of the epidemic in the general population. "It is therefore legitimate, in this context, [that the Americans] begin to vaccinate young children",commented Thursday on franceinfo on Pr Alain Fischer, president of the Vaccine strategy orientation council.

A measure which, we repeat, is still not relevant in France.

"In France, we can afford to wait a bit," said Professor Fischer.

And if there is no urgency to broaden the vaccine target, it is because on our side of the Atlantic, the situation is very different and the vaccination coverage much higher.

In the United States, 57.5% of the population has a complete vaccination schedule, according to data from the American health authorities, against more than 50 million French people who are fully vaccinated, or nearly 75% of the general population.

A rate that the health authorities would like to see further increase, but which already makes it possible to avoid epidemic outbreaks of similar magnitude to the first waves which affected France.

A benefit / risk balance to be assessed

Among Americans who are reluctant to vaccinate their young children, concerns are mostly about side effects, short or long term. A fear shared by many parents here in France. Like Sophie. “Studies show that there are less risks of severe form when you are vaccinated, which is why I let my 17 year old daughter get vaccinated. It was her choice, she needed it psychologically to resume her teenage life. But I would have refused if I had children in kindergarten or elementary school, especially since we realize today that the vaccine may have disrupted the menstrual cycle of some women, which has elsewhere was the case with my eldest ”.

In addition, the benefit / risk balance of vaccinating the youngest is not considered balanced by many parents. This is the case of Pascal, dad of Mila, 5 years old. “My wife and I have been vaccinated twice since April, so rather pro-vaccine,” he says. However, it appears to us that vaccination would be more of a risk for our daughter: the 5-11 year olds hardly have serious forms, and they contribute less to the spread of the disease. So why vaccinate them knowing that this will not slow down the virus much more, at the risk of making them develop myocarditis? I prefer the option of a third dose on adults ”.

Katia, she, “thinks that we should instead make the vaccine compulsory for all adults and leave young people alone.

I remain convinced that if all adults had agreed to be vaccinated, we would not be there ”.

" No way "

More than doubts, some reject outright any idea of ​​vaccination.

“My husband and I are not vaccinated and it goes without saying that our two children (8 and 5 years old) will never be either.

It will take me over the body!

», Insists Caroline.

For Frédéric, father of three children aged 9, 8 and 5, the answer is simple, it's “never in my life!

They are absolutely not threatened by Covid-19 which would, at worst, have the effect of a good flu.

Their immune system is developing, they don't need that, ”he says.

In France, currently, only those over 12 are eligible for the vaccine.

And to date, 75.2% of 12-17 year olds have received their first dose of the vaccine.

They are 71.2% to have a complete vaccination schedule.

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