In France, the High Authority of Health should decide in the coming days on this sensitive subject. If its recommendation is positive, the government could open vaccination at the 5-11 years “optional,” said Olivier Véran on Thursday night.
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This is the first CVIV-19 vaccine allowed for children in Europe. The European Medicines Agency (AEM) announced, Thursday, November 25, having approved the use of the Pfizer-Biontech RNA Messenger vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years. At the end of May, she had already authorized her administration to teenagers over 12 years old.
“The profit of comirnaty [the commercial name of the vaccine] for children aged 5 to 11 is higher than the risks, especially for those whose condition increases the risk of developing a severe CVIV-19 form., explained the European regulator. For the twenty-seven to launch vaccination campaigns at the youngest, it still needs to be validated by the European Commission, which, in general, follows the notices of the Authority.
According to the AEM recommendation, children aged 5 to 11 should receive – two injections at three weeks apart – one third of the dose administered to adults and adolescents over 12 years.
An essay carried out on 2,000 young people from this age group has made it possible to conclude from 90.7% of the vaccine. Of the 1,305 children who have been immunized, three have developed the disease against sixteen for 663 who have received placebo. The AEM says identify “light or moderate” adverse effects comparable to those found in the older ones: injection site, fatigue, headache or colds.
The wave of Covid-19 who has fallen on Europe particularly affects children, who are not vaccinated. In this context, class closures are multiplying. In the Netherlands, where the AEM is headquartered, under 12 years old are the group where the virus is progressing as soon as possible, explained the authorities at the beginning of the week.
“We know that the severe Covid-19 and death remain rather rare in children, but a serious illness can occur at all pediatric ages,” warned Marco Cavaleri, head of the immunization strategy of the AEM. As far as “a high transmission leads to an increase in hospitalizations in children of all ages”.
Collective benefit
In its last assessment of the situation in Europe, on 24 November, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), has devoted part of its analysis to the youngest. “Children represent a growing share of infected people and hospitalizations, in part because older populations are increasingly vaccinated.” If the AEM had to approve a vaccine for 5 to 11 years, writes the sanitary agency, “the impact on mortality would be negligible in the short term”. But, in the longer term, “she continues,” this could have a greater impact on the transmission, which would be followed by a decline in mortality and hospitalizations of other age classes “.
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