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While some countries announce the start of their vaccination campaigns imminently, many gray areas remain on the results of these.
“Between the end of December and the beginning of January, there will be a very targeted first campaign with first generation vaccines, on which we have little prospect.” This observation was launched on Tuesday by Emmanuel Macron during a press point, while the President of the Republic partly detailed the vaccination plan he wanted to implement in France in collaboration with the health authorities.
If Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed on BFMTV’s antenna this Wednesday that 100 million doses would be available in France, the government’s strategy will not be publicly supported until Thursday. However, it is the people at risk, hospital staff or nursing homes who should be vaccinated first, before a massive vaccination next spring. Except that several questions arise about vaccines.
> How effective is the vaccine?
On the antenna of BFMTV, Mylène Ogliastro, virologist and vice president of the French Society of Virology, explains that the “true efficacy” of the vaccine is one of the thorniest issues at the moment.
On this point, however, many scientists are optimistic. This is the case of François Viè Le Sage, member of the group of experts in vaccinology “INFOVAC”, who also reminds us that a “lack of perspective” is still notable.
“The first vaccine studies that are talked about so much these days, Pfizer and Moderna, which are messenger RNA vaccines, have one in 40,000 subjects and the other more than 30,000. They are 95% of success,” he reassures.
For his part, during an interview at the end of November on the BFMTV antenna, Arnaud Fontanet, epidemiologist and member of the Scientific Council, also wanted to remain positive about the effectiveness of vaccines, while admitting that several questions arise. they were still posing.
“We have the vaccines and the first results are very encouraging. For many, we have efficiencies of 90% that we did not expect in view of phase 2. We will find ourselves in a situation with different vaccines, better production,” he explains, also ensuring that these data passed on. the laboratories must be supported by scientific publications, “not by press releases”.
The issue of efficiency also needs to be explored in many respects. It is not known whether the action of these vaccines is the same in populations most at risk, starting with the elderly, whose immune systems are less effective. They are much more likely to have a severe form of Covid-19, so it is essential that a vaccine works in this population group.
It also remains to be seen whether these vaccines block transmission of the virus, as well as reduce the severity of the disease in those who received them. This is an essential step in stopping the pandemic.
“You have to make sure these vaccines protect against infections or severe forms, it’s not the same thing. If you protect against infections you prevent the spread of the virus, if you protect severe forms, you will prevent people at risk from being hospitalized or dying” , Arnaud Fontanet points out.
> How long will the protection last?
Here, too, the question remains crucial, and the long-term efficacy of these candidate vaccines is not yet known as the figures were calculated only a week or two after the last injection.
“How long will the protection last? Will the virus eventually mutate to escape the vaccine, which would therefore limit the effectiveness of vaccination?”, Sums up a British expert, Dr Penny Ward (King’s College of London), quoted by Science Media Center ( SMC) and imaged by AFP.
Again, Professor Arnaud Fontanet tries to reassure. The latter believes that, like other diseases, frequent vaccinations could be useful.
“Things went so fast we couldn’t see how long it was going to last. […] How long? We do not know. The immune response appears robust and, by analogy with other vaccines, it can be assumed that the protection will last for a year. Ideally, we would end up with the flu shot, which should be repeated regularly. We would have a fragile population, like the flu, vaccinated every year. It would prevent the circulation of the virus “.
On the other hand, the latter estimates that vaccinated people can, despite everything, in some cases still transmit the disease to other people.
“In the Moderna and Pfizer studies, the criterion was not to have a clinical form but people could be contagious, it happened in the monkeys tested, they had the virus in their nasal passages.”
> What possible side effects?
Last question mark, the possible side effects of the proposed vaccines. At present, studies have not revealed any significant side effects, “continuous monitoring” is needed to ensure “that there are no rare but more serious side effects of wide use. Scale,” says Dr. Ward.
For his part, Arnaud Fontanet evokes the “risk-benefit” criterion of a treatment, which will logically be more important for populations at risk.
“If you are over 65, with comorbidities at risk of complications, your benefit in terms of risk is evident. What will be more difficult are the young people, who wonder what their advantage is. And then there will be side effects, there always are. Any vaccine carries risks of serious but very rare side effects, “he points out.
As Brigitte Autran, emeritus professor of immunology also recalled on BFMTV on November 26, the negative effects of vaccines generally occur in the first two months.
“Clinical studies show that there are no serious side effects, but they are tests done on tens of thousands of people. When you go to millions of vaccinated people, you can find side effects. Rare, which we do not know today,” he developed, recalling that in the case of Covid-19 “as for all vaccines, as regards the non-serious adverse effects, we know that there may be fever, muscle aches, pain at the injection site”.
Jean-Paul Hamon, general practitioner, honorary president of the federation of doctors of France, also reminds us on our antenna that “all drugs have effects”. The latter also called on the government to provide clear and transparent communication on this matter.
“We are in a crucial moment, all the credibility of the government will be in the transparency of this vaccine. We need clear, detailed and accurate information”, he concludes.
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