Covid vaccine for 5-11 year olds: France is thinking about it, but not before 2022

Europe 1 with AFP 5:13 p.m., November 25, 2021, modified at 5:14 p.m., November 25, 2021

France is studying the possibility of vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19, but in any case, this will not take place before "early 2022", Minister of Health Olivier Véran said on Thursday.

"This vaccination, if it were decided in France, would not start before the beginning of the year 2022", declared Olivier Véran, who approached the national health authorities after the approval of Pfizer's vaccine for 5-11 year olds by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

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No scientific consensus

In an opinion made public on November 17, the Academy of Medicine recommended not to vaccinate all children but to favor those likely to develop serious forms due to comorbidities as well as children living in their family and school environment.

The Academy, whose opinions are only advisory, also recommended to vaccinate "children living in the entourage of vulnerable adults, in particular the immunocompromised and people with chronic diseases". 

Currently, only those over twelve can be vaccinated in France.

The position taken by the Academy of Medicine came after several controversies over the advisability of extending anti-Covid vaccination to 5-11 year olds, as the United States and Israel have already done.

The individual benefits of childhood vaccination are a priori very limited for children.

Serious forms and deaths are very rare among them.

However, the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines can occasionally cause heart inflammation.

Very rare side effects but to be compared with the questionable benefit of the vaccine in the little ones.

However, the arguments for immunizing children are also collective.

It would aim to prevent the virus from circulating among them and therefore, subsequently among the rest of the population.