Covid-19: vaccine banned for minors under 18?

Minors, largely absent from the French vaccination strategy against Covid-19? “In the first place“, there will be no marketing authorization (AMM) for vaccines for people under the age of 18, due to a lack of clinical trial data, the High Authority for Health said on Monday morning. during a press conference aimed at detailing the French strategy for the future campaign.

“It is desirable that there is a rapid marketing authorization for children under 18“said Daniel Floret, vice president of the Technical Committee for Vaccinations (CTV) on this topic during the online press point.”It is to be hoped that the studies will be carried out quickly because there are certainly children who have comorbidities with a risk (of severe forms) perhaps less important than certain adults or vulnerable groups, but higher than other children “, detailed. And to continue : “It is certain that the various laboratories developing vaccines intend in a second phase to introduce children who could benefit from a marketing authorization in a second phase“.

At the end of October, the Pfizer laboratory specifically announced that it had started the first trials in the United States on 12-year-olds after 90% effective results on adults. “It is important to remind people that if teenagers do not develop as severe forms as older people, it does not mean that children do not get sick and die.“explained Professor Robert Frenck, who oversees these tests.

For this future campaign, the health authority defines “five progressive stages“with a guideline:”protecting the most vulnerable and those who care for them as a priority“, its president Dominique Le Guludec explained on Monday. However, children are less likely to develop severe and more often asymptomatic forms without deciding their contagiousness, studies are in fact contradictory on the subject.”Today, at the state of knowledge, we do not know if these vaccines prevent the transmission of the virus, when we do, the strategy could be revised.“, he also stressed, insisting that for the moment vaccines are therefore primarily targeted”to avoid resuscitation“is”to die“du Covid-19.

People over the age of 18 who would like to be vaccinated, regardless of various vulnerability criteria and the risk of exposure to the virus used to determine the priority audience, should be able to be vaccinated during Phase 5 which is expected to take place this summer. . “When we look at priorities in other EU countries, we come across very similar strategies“, explained Pr Élisabeth Bouvet, President of the Technical Committee on Vaccinations (CTV).