“We are simplifying things, only one of the two parents is enough,” said the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
New change in the organization of the vaccination campaign. During a press briefing on Tuesday, the Ministry of Solidarity and Health indicated that the agreement of only one parent would now be required to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19. “We simplify things, only one of the two parents is enough“, we clarified.
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At the start of the vaccination campaign for children, the agreement of only one parent was enough. Then, after a request from the Council of State, the agreement of both parents became essential for children aged 5 to 11 years. A development regretted by the president of the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council (COSV), Alain Ficher: “I think it’s a bit unfortunate, it’s an obstacle that dramatizes this notion of vaccination a bit“, judged the”mister vaccineof the government, at the beginning of January.
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A campaign deemed insufficient among children
An urgent DGS will be transmitted “to widely inform about this simplificationadded a ministry official. Another change, the ministry will “open the list of pediatric vaccination effectors“: nurses, pharmacists and midwives will be able to join the battle, alongside vaccination centers. These changes are aimed in particular at accelerating vaccination among the youngest, whereas the Omicron variant is spreading widely in this age group and the current campaign is considered to be largely insufficient.
As of January 9, for example, according to figures from the Cnam, only 2.8% of children aged 5 to 11 with at least one comorbidity had received a first dose of vaccine against Covid-19. And this, while these young people are more at risk of developing a serious form of the disease. “This is a number that seems too low […]. It’s about health and protectionchildren, noted a ministry official. “These children do not have a very high risk of complications, but it remains significantly higher” than for children with no comorbidity, pleaded Alain Fischer, calling for “vaccinate fragile children even more and faster“. “We know the reluctance, it exists, but vaccination is worth it“, hammered the professor.
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For the time being, the general campaign among children is making little progress, reaching less than 5% of the population concerned: “Can’t say it’s a great success […]. Vaccination remains relevant, effective and safe“, declared Alain Fischer. The severe forms arerarein these children, butthat doesn’t mean they don’t exist“. In addition, vaccination limits infection, if not prevents it: it can therefore mitigate class closures and contamination within this age group, explained the president of the COSV. And to add:We need to vaccinate as much as possible, as soon as possible.without setting a quantified target to be achieved.
An opinion joined by the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Medicine: in a joint press release published on Tuesday, the two institutions underlined “the high incidence of contamination in children in a context favorable to transmission in schools and families“, then leading to a “significant increase in daily pediatric hospitalizations“. Both academies emphasize the benefits of childhood vaccinations, and “recommend hastening the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19 to achieve good vaccination coverage as quickly as possible“. They call forno longer hesitateseeing it as useful protection against Omicron.