Influenza: the health authorities recommend the vaccine for minors from 2 years old

Europe1 .fr with AFP 5:37 p.m., February 9, 2023

The French health authorities recommended Thursday to vaccinate all children over the age of two against seasonal flu free of charge, highlighting in particular the collective interest of such a measure without asking that it be compulsory.

The High Authority for Health (HAS) recommends "that vaccination against seasonal flu be integrated into the vaccination schedule to be offered each year to children without comorbidities aged 2 to 17 years old, without making it compulsory", she said. announced in a press release.

Until now, annual vaccination against influenza was mainly recommended for older people, that is to say everyone over 65 years old.

However, it is also recommended for people at risk, such as asthmatics or patients with certain heart diseases.

On the other hand, influenza vaccines were not recommended for children, apart from those with risky "comorbidities" such as those mentioned above.

The opinion of the HAS therefore marks a change of footing of the French authorities, after years of debate on the individual and collective interest of mass vaccinating children against the flu.

Well-tolerated vaccines

Several countries, such as the United Kingdom, have already made this choice, above all in the idea that children constitute an important breeding ground for the transmission of the virus, in particular among older relatives.

But the opponents of this measure question the individual interest for children to be vaccinated against the flu, in view of the reduced risk of complications in their age group.

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After reviewing several recent large-scale studies, including "reviews" that compile pre-existing work, HAS concluded that existing vaccines were effective and well tolerated in children over two years of age.

They therefore judge that there is an individual interest in vaccinating most minors, stressing that they have constituted a significant part of recent hospitalizations.

But it is of course the collective interest that the HAS insists: "The objective is (...) to limit the spread and impact of the flu on the population", she notes.

She is also in favor of full reimbursement of the vaccine for children, and, while recommending all the vaccines in circulation, suggests administering the only one given by "nasal spray".

This vaccine, developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory, is currently little given but it would, according to the HAS, have the advantage of being more acceptable than a shot for children and their parents.