While the vaccine booster is, for the moment, intended in France for the most fragile people, the High Authority for Health (HAS) on Wednesday recommended a third dose of vaccine for “caregivers, medical transport and professionals in the medical sector. -social ”.
This recall is also recommended for the entourage of immunocompromised people, announces the HAS in a press release, two days after its European counterpart paved the way for a generalization of the third dose. An opinion that the government must now choose to follow or not.
Pfizer, the only vaccine authorized in third dose
In France, a recall campaign has been underway since September, in the face of the loss of effectiveness of anti-Covid vaccines over time, despite still high protection against severe forms of the disease. Until now, only those over 65 and people at risk, such as diabetics, could benefit from it. This affected 18 million people.
The European Medicines Authority changed the game on Wednesday. It authorized the generalization of a reminder to all adults, leaving to the authorities of each country of the European Union the precise choice of the persons concerned. For the time being, this booster dose must necessarily come from a Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, based on messenger RNA technology.
Towards a generalization of recall to all adults?
By recommending the third dose to caregivers, other similar professions and relatives of immunocompromised, the HAS is opening it to nearly 4 million additional people in France. Above all, the institution paves the way for a generalization of the recall to all adults, while deeming the measure still premature.
Even if the circumstances “do not justify, at this stage, recommending the administration of an additional dose in the general population, (…) the HAS nevertheless emphasizes that the administration of a booster dose will probably become necessary during months to come ”. The need for a booster dose is still the subject of much debate in the scientific world, its interest still to be assessed for the entire population.
To make its decision, the HAS mainly cites a study conducted in Israel, a country where vaccination began very early. It shows a clear reduction in the risks of severe form in people who received a booster dose, but the study only concerns those over 60 years of age.