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Vaccination against Covid-19: a reminder recommended in the fall for people at risk

The authorities now want to monitor the Covid-19 epidemic like the flu, and this is also reflected in vaccination recommendations. The Higher Health Authority (HAS) is recommending this Friday morning a Covid vaccination booster campaign in the fall for people at risk “at the same time as the flu vaccination campaign”, like Le Parisien in early February. It must be “at least six months” since the last dose or most recent infection.

People who are considered “at risk” include those who are at least 65 years of age, those who are younger but have at least one comorbid condition (obesity, chronic diseases, etc.), or even pregnant women. Also included in this category are persons who are “in their environment or in constant contact with them”, including guardians. The most vulnerable individuals (over 80 years of age, immunocompromised, etc.) may also be offered a second booster in the spring “if their health status and level of vaccine protection so warrant.”

Priority bivalent vaccines

On a practical level, it needs to be at least six months since the last dose or most recent Covid infection, “regardless of the person’s age or the number of previous reminders.” Bivalent mRNA vaccines (developed by Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna) should be used first. In addition, for logistical reasons in particular, HAS recommends combining the fall Covid-19 vaccination campaign with the influenza campaign, “which targets the same populations.”

This recommendation strongly resembles the one already published in England and is in line with the opinion of doctors interviewed a few weeks ago. “Personally, I think that we will carry out an annual vaccination for risk groups,” said Stefan Pohl, an immunologist from CHU Saint-Étienne (Loire), in particular. HAS has not yet decided on a post-2023 period and urges “not to exclude the possibility of a vaccination campaign at any time if the epidemiological situation justifies it.”

Incidentally, the body “no longer recommends primary vaccination against Covid-19 in the general population based on currently available evidence.” Presumably, she believes that the unvaccinated who did not die from a Covid infection theoretically have partial immunity after at least one infection.

Source: Le Parisien

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