“From now on, only 7 days will suffice to be considered fully protected in France and to access the health pass”. The day after Emmanuel Macron’s speech announcing the extension of the health pass in France, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, specified that the deadline for obtaining it after vaccination would be shortened by one week, from 14 to 7 days after the administration of the second dose of anti-Covid vaccine.
And for many French people who have not yet taken the step to be vaccinated, it is urgent if they want to enjoy their summer. From July 21, the pass will be extended to all places of culture (theaters, cinemas, performance halls, etc.) welcoming more than 50 people. And at the beginning of August, it will be required to go to a restaurant, have a drink on the terrace, or take the train or plane. The goal: to encourage those who have not yet been there to be inoculated. And it works: after this announcement, and while the vaccine campaign was on the wing, the niches were taken by storm. But, apart from allowing faster access to this sesame, what is the scientific basis for the shortening of the production time? Is it without health risk?
The vaccination schedule considered complete 14 days after the second dose
The initially planned period of 14 days was not decreed at random: “The immunity conferred by the anti-Covid vaccination does not appear immediately after the first, or even after the second dose, recalls Dr. Jérôme Marty, doctor general practitioner and president of the French Union for Free Medicine (UFML). It increases gradually, and this period of two weeks after the second injection corresponds to the time necessary for the body to develop enough neutralizing antibodies to be protected against Covid-19 and its variants in circulation ”.
Several studies, as well as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, have also concluded that the immunity acquired by vaccination was optimal from 14 days after the second dose of messenger RNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or viral vector (AstraZeneca). It is therefore this period that has been decreed by France and by the European Union (EU) to determine when a person has a vaccination schedule considered complete. It is – and remains – 28 days after the administration of the first and only dose for the Janssen vaccine.
“A very high level of protection” 7 days after the second dose
So, on what elements does Olivier Véran base this period shortened to seven days? “It’s a decision that is more economic and social than health,” says Dr Marty. The studies cited by the Minister of Health do not take into account the Delta variant too much, they relate to other variants, he points out. However, the Delta is more contagious, progresses more quickly, so shortening the time to obtain the health pass can promote some infections in vaccinated people. In any case, this reflects a delay in ignition: this decision is taken too late, in haste and in full vacation! Why was this measure not announced a month and a half ago? This would have allowed the greatest number of French people to be protected from the start of the summer. People who start their vaccination today will not be fully protected until the end of the summer, ie after their vacation ”.
The general practitioner is thus “not sure that 7 days after the second dose, one is sufficiently protected against the Delta variant”. The Minister of Health, who said he made this decision after meeting with the government’s Mr. Vaccine, Professor Alain Fischer, is for his part rather confident. An observational study carried out in particular by researchers from the Institut Pasteur observes that protection against symptomatic forms of Covid-19 is optimal as early as seven days after the second dose of messenger RNA vaccines. At seven days, they are 88% effective against the original strain of the virus, 86% against the Alpha variant and 77% against the Delta variant, about ten points less than the immunity observed a week later. Immunity certainly not optimal, but considered sufficiently protective. Observations confirmed by the
Vaccine strategy orientation advice, who recalled this Thursday that “clinical studies indicate that both for the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine, that a very high level of clinical protection is observed as early as 7 days after administration of the second dose”. And “this observation of protection after 7 days is true for protection against infection, against the risk of occurrence of a serious form and probably (but with less certainty) against the risk of transmission”, adds the
scientific Council in its notice also published on Thursday.
Be careful, however, before booking your holidays in Europe: the conditions of the European health pass – or EU digital Covid certificate, they have not changed: “The European rules of 14 days remain unchanged for the moment,” said Olivier Véran. The health pass giving French people the right to travel outside France but within the EU will therefore only be valid 14 days after their second injection.