The President of the Republic announced yesterday the opening on June 15 of vaccination for 12 to 18 year olds. La Dépêche du Midi takes stock of this new stage.
It is now official, minors from 12 to 18 years old will be able to be vaccinated from June 15. In France as elsewhere, the question of vaccination of the youngest is debated. In the company of Romain Basmaci, secretary general of the French Pediatric Society, the Midi Dispatch answers questions.
q Is the vaccination of adolescents against Covid-19 necessary?
Epidemiologists agree that adolescent vaccination is legitimate. Even if they only very rarely develop serious forms of the disease, they participate in the spread – albeit attenuated – of the virus in the country.
Recent studies show that the majority of children transmit the virus to each other outside of school and that having a teenager at home increases an adult’s risk of contracting Covid-19. Beyond that, the vaccination of adolescents would allow them to regain a “more normal” social life: “The impact of Covid in children and adolescents remains more linked to restrictive measures than to the virus itself”, affirms Romain Basmaci.
q Is vaccination dangerous for adolescents?
On the issue of vaccine safety for adolescents, scientists currently only have pharmacovigilance elements resulting from the vaccination of nearly 3,000 minors in the United States. Particular attention is paid to certain “myocarditis”, inflammation of the heart muscle in the youngest after vaccination: “We must be vigilant because the child does not behave like adults vis-à-vis this virus “, recalls Romain Basmaci. Still, the vast majority of children who have been the subject of myocarditis following vaccination “have a favorable evolution of their state of health.”
q Are there any other particular side effects in adolescents?
As in the case of a Covid-19 infection, a teenager does not have the same immune response as an adult when they are vaccinated. These can be the subject of side effects (fever, pain, headache) “more marked than in adults, a little more severe or prolonged pain”. No worries, however: according to Romain Basmaci, these side effects generally subside between one and three days after the injection of the vaccine.
One in two French people received an injection
A symbolic milestone was crossed yesterday, the executive having announced that one in two adults had now received a dose of vaccine. That is more than 26.5 million French people who have gone through the vaccine box. Note that to these are added 11.4 million people who have benefited from two necessary injections. Next step, the milestone of 30 million vaccinations. Announced for June 15, this threshold could be crossed two days earlier. As for the vaccination of half of the population (minors included), it could take place before July 1.
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