French health authorities advise against Moderna vaccine for children under 30 – The HuffPost

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VACCINE – The High Authority for Health in France (HAS) this Monday, November 8 advised against the use of Moderna vaccine for those under 30, based in particular on a study according to which it slightly increases the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis for this population.

Led by the Epi-Phare structure, which associates the Health Insurance (Cnam) and the Medicines Agency (ANSM), a large study published on Monday focused on people aged 12 to 50 years hospitalized in France for myocarditis or pericarditis between May 15 and August 31, or 919 cases of myocarditis and 917 cases of pericarditis.

Myocarditis and pericarditis are inflammations of the heart. The first affects the myocardium, the main heart muscle, and the second the pericardium, the membrane that surrounds the heart.

As had been shown by pharmacovigilance reports, the results of the French study confirm that the vaccines Pfizer and especially Moderna increase the risk of these diseases occurring within 7 days of vaccination, and more often in men under 30 years of age.

In view of these results, the HAS “recommends, for the population under the age of 30 and when it is available, the use of the Pfizer vaccine, whether it is a primary vaccination or a booster”.

Conversely, she recommends that the Moderna vaccine, “whose vaccine efficacy seems slightly better, can be used as a primary vaccination course and for the administration of a booster dose in half-dose in subjects over the age of 30. years”.

The imperative to vaccinate as widely as possible

On October 15, the French National Authority for Health recommended using the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine exclusively for booster doses.

“When we weigh the effectiveness of vaccines against severe forms of Covid-19 (estimated at around 90%) and the existing but infrequent risks of myocarditis and pericarditis, with favorable development, the benefit-risk ratio of vaccines is not called into question ”, assured this Monday to AFP Mahmoud Zureik, director of the structure Epi-Phare.

The HAS reiterates for its part the imperative to vaccinate as widely as possible.

“The epidemic is currently marking a recovery the evolution of which is difficult to predict, but the start of the winter period combined with the foreseeable drop in vaccine efficacy in people vaccinated before the summer once again reminds us of the importance of obtaining the best possible vaccination coverage of the entire population and in particular among people most likely to have a serious form of Covid-19 ”, insists the High Authority for Health.

It also considers it necessary to “maintain a high level of protection by administering a booster dose in the most vulnerable populations and those most exposed to the virus”.

A health defense council is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Paris. In the evening, President Emmanuel Macron will address the French again to evoke in particular the health crisis.

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