In France, the 360,000 children with comorbidities can, since Wednesday, December 15, be vaccinated against Covid-19 in hospitals and specialized centers.

The children concerned - in addition to those living alongside immunocompromised people - are notably suffering from chronic hepatic, renal, respiratory or cardiac disease, neurological, cancer, diabetes, sickle cell disease, immunodeficiency, severe neuromuscular disability, hemopathy. malignant, trisomy 21 or obesity.

The opening of vaccination centers to all 5-11 year olds, on a voluntary basis, should take place from December 20, depending on the opinion that will be issued by the Haute Autorité de santé. .

It is "a good thing that vaccination is open to fragile children at risk of developing a serious form of Covid-19", estimates immunologist Frédéric Rieux-Laucat, director of research at Inserm and head of the laboratory of immunogenetics of pediatric autoimmune diseases at the Imagine Institute, contacted by France 24. Certain regions of Germany, such as the city of Berlin, have adopted the same strategy.

Portugal is expected to do the same soon.

Many countries already vaccinate

However, the French government has come out in favor of opening vaccination to all children in this age group, subject to the agreement of the health authorities.

Vaccination of the most fragile children will begin on December 14 upon receipt of the 1st pediatric doses of vaccine.


According to the opinions of the health authorities & the national ethics committee, we will be able to open the vaccination to all children on December 20.

- Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) December 6, 2021

Frédéric Rieux-Laucat shares the same point of view, as does the European Medicines Agency, which authorized the vaccination of children on November 25.

The measure was adopted by Austria and Denmark in November, and entered into force Wednesday in Greece, Hungary and Spain.

From Athens, France 24 correspondent Alexia Kefalas reports that 30,000 appointments have already been made by parents wishing to have their children vaccinated.

In Spain, the European champion of vaccination - nearly 80% of the population has received at least two doses - some 3.3 million children are likely to receive their first dose in the coming weeks.

Vaccination of children is expected to begin on December 16 in Italy, and next month in Switzerland.

Outside Europe, China, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia vaccinate children from 3 years old, Cuba and Nicaragua from 2 years old.

The United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada and Israel have also opened up vaccination for those under 12.

Few severe cases in children

“The French should not hesitate to have children vaccinated as soon as possible, assures Frédéric Rieux-Laucat. cardiac tissue, Editor's note) caused by Covid-19 on children who did not suffer from any pathology. Even if this risk certainly concerns less than 10% of children of this age in France, it would be stupid not to vaccinate them when 'the vaccine is known to prevent contracting these inflammatory diseases. "

Several cases of this serious condition, close to Kawasaki disease, have in fact been recorded in children affected by Covid-19 from the first wave.

If only one death resulted in France, several children had to be placed in intensive care.

The vaccine could protect them from this.

A first study, carried out by Pfizer on 2,268 children, in fact attests to the effectiveness of the vaccine of around 90%, a rate similar to that observed in adults.

However, debates remain among specialists given the low representativeness of the sample.

Some also doubt the relevance of mass vaccination in children when they remain little subject to severe cases.

Guaranteeing children a normal life

But according to Frédéric Rieux-Laucat, the vaccination of children has interests that go beyond the sole protection of the individual.

The virus circulates very actively in this age group: the World Health Organization (WHO) observed that the incidence rates could be two to three times higher in 5-14 year olds than in the rest. Population.

“Beyond the sole individual protection of children, vaccinating them helps protect their loved ones, especially during the holiday season, and guarantees them a normal life, explains the immunologist. Preventing the epidemic from continuing to spread limits the risks the appearance of new variants and allows these children to be guaranteed the continuation of their sociality and their education. "

Like many colleagues, Frédéric Rieux-Laucat therefore awaits the final opinion of the High Authority for Health (HAS), that of the National Ethics Council and that of the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council chaired by Alain Fischer. , the "Monsieur Vaccin" of the government, which should intervene in the coming days.

Logistical problems

"We are waiting for the feedback of data from other countries before deciding, develops Frédéric Rieux-Laucat, but for the moment, on the five million children vaccinated in the United States (out of the 28 million in the country) , we did not identify a single case of serious adverse side effects. "

Since the end of October, five million American children have received a Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in the appropriate dosage.

If it follows the same vaccination schedule as that applied to adults - a dose followed by a booster after three weeks -, the vaccine for children is indeed three times less concentrated than that intended for adults.

In France, a serological test is recommended before vaccination to ensure that the child has not already contracted an asymptomatic form of Covid-19.

If so, a single dose is sufficient.

However, logistical problems may arise quickly, anticipates Frédéric Rieux-Laucat.

"It is already complicated now for adults to make an appointment to get their third booster dose, yet necessary to maintain the health pass. So if we add six million children to be vaccinated, it may be difficult. "

Two million doses for children have already been ordered by the French state, and a million more should arrive in January.

>> To read also: "The Omicron variant, a direct consequence of vaccine inequality?"

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