The Directorate General of Health estimates in a note published on Wednesday that the monitoring period after a booster dose against Covid-19 is no longer necessary for a public without particular risk factors.
The objective is to speed up the vaccination campaign in its practical aspect. Based on an opinion of December 24 from the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council (COSV), the Directorate General for Health (DGS) announced the “Elimination of the fifteen-minute monitoring period” after a booster dose. To justify its decision, the DGS stresses that “The risk that people who did not have an allergic reaction during their primary vaccination do during their booster dose is extremely low”.
This recommendation came into effect on Wednesday, while the government is pursuing its strategy to encourage vaccination. According to the DGS, it “Will make it possible to streamline the organization of vaccination centers as part of the recall campaign”.
The organization notes, however, that the fifteen-minute deadline will still have to be respected in certain cases. Thus, when administering the first dose or the second dose. The following audiences will also be concerned: people “First-time vaccinated with a vaccine other than Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna”, people with allergies, children from 5 to 11 years old, pregnant women and the chronically ill.
No “serious side effects”
While the health authorities had introduced this waiting period after the injection of a dose of vaccine, the DGS reports that the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) “Has not received any cases of serious adverse reactions within the fifteen minute post-vaccination surveillance period”.
On the practical side, the Ministry of Health mentions, to facilitate the implementation of this new recommendation, the issuance of a “Good color” intended for people still subject to a waiting period. In its opinion, the DGS also underlines that the time between two doses of pediatric vaccine, currently set at 21 days, is adjustable. “More or less three days”. A latitude which “Does not compromise the safety or efficacy of the vaccine”, estimated the Orientation Council of the vaccination strategy.