Olivier Véran reiterated the idea that for the moment, a 4th dose of the vaccine against covid did not seem necessary.
The principle of the 3rd dose of vaccine against covid – or booster dose – has been generalized in France. From now on, the reminder is even mandatory for the validity of the vaccination pass. But infections are also taken into account, since they provide immune protection.
What could be the place of a 4th dose in this context? The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, gave his position during his hearing in the Senate, on February 22, 2022, dedicated to the vaccine pass.
A 4th dose maybe next fall, for some audiences
During his hearing, the Minister of Health affirmed that the 4th dose did not appear necessary for the moment. He thus reiterates his position which he had already expressed on several occasions in recent days. ” The scientific authorities considered that this was not necessary today, given the fact that the vaccines were a little less adapted to variants like Omicron. As laboratories are developing new vaccines, if the question were to arise, for example next fall, we would have more suitable and modern vaccines. “, he explained on RTL on February 20.
Olivier Véran said then to take into account the ” vaccine fatigue “, That is to say a form of fed up of a part of the population towards the doses of vaccine. Moreover, it would seem that if a new vaccination campaign were to take place, it would mainly target the elderly and the most fragile (some immunocompromised people have already received a fourth dose due to a different immune system, less able to produce an effective immune response).
The position of the Ministry of Health seems to agree with the recommendation issued by the Council for the Orientation of the Vaccine Strategy (COSV), issued at the end of January 2022, which concluded that ” in the face of all these elements [décrits dans l’avis]the COSV considers that the available data do not currently call for the establishment of a second vaccination booster. »
The Council, however, posed a nuance for the oldest people: “ The COSV notes, however, that careful monitoring of the evolution of the curve of hospitalizations for people aged 80 or over who have received their first booster vaccine should be maintained. If the slight increase in the number of hospitalizations, which began in December, were to continue over the next few weeks, the COSV could recommend the systematic administration of a second booster vaccine for these people. At present, however, this signal does not seem sufficient to issue such a recommendation. »