Source : Map
19/12/2022 16:05
The French health authorities have, for the first time, recommended, this Monday, an anti-Covid vaccine, that of Pfizer / BioNTech, to certain babies aged 6 months to 4 years, but without doing so for this entire age category. .
The High Authority for Health (HAS) “recommends extending vaccination against Covid-19 as of today to children aged 6 months to 4 years old at risk of a serious form of the disease and death”, a-t she announced in a press release.
The French health authorities have, for the time being, only authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and above all, have limited it to very specific categories of babies.
These are, essentially, those who are at risk of serious complications. This includes “children who have any of these comorbidities: congenital heart disease, chronic liver disease, chronic heart and respiratory disease – including severe asthma requiring ongoing treatment, neurological disease, primary or induced immunodeficiency drugs, obesity, diabetes, hematological malignancies, sickle cell disease and trisomy 21”, lists the HAS. Added to this are cases of “recent cancer, chronic kidney disease or neurological disability”.
The HAS also recommends vaccinating children aged 6 months to 4 years living with people who are immunocompromised or who do not respond to vaccination.
This HAS opinion comes in a context where very few French children are vaccinated against Covid, while vaccination has been open to children under twelve since the end of 2021.
Currently, barely 5% of children aged 5 to 11 are vaccinated in France. The coronavirus first represents a significant risk for the oldest. But serious cases and deaths also exist in children, particularly when they are at risk of serious forms.