Covid-19: the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council paves the way for the 3rd dose for all adults – LCI

While the number of contaminations has been on the rise for several weeks in many European countries, the recall campaign continues to gain momentum in France. Since the launch of this campaign on September 1, more than 5.2 million French people have received a third injection. But for the Orientation Council of the vaccination strategy, it will undoubtedly have to accelerate the step by widening the conditions of access to the booster dose to all adults.

In a notice made public this Sunday, the body indicates that “the epidemic modeling data encourage considering vaccination of the entire adult population 6 months after the primary vaccination in order to curb the epidemic and reduce the number of serious forms”. Pr Alain Fischer, President of the Council, had already indicated Wednesday, November 17 on Europe 1, that the opening of the third dose for all was “very probable”.

In this same opinion, dated November 19, the Council was also in favor of lowering the eligibility threshold at the age of 50, which was announced by Emmanuel Macron during his speech on November 9. . From the beginning of December, 50-64 year olds will be able to receive their third dose. A decision “likely to reduce by around 40 to 50% the number of hospitalizations and admissions in critical care”, welcomes the COSV in its opinion.

This recommendation also applies to pregnant women, who, according to the instzance, should get their third dose. “taking into account both the good tolerance to the vaccine and the inherent risks of the disease for these people”, warn the authors.

Friday, November 19, President Emmanuel Macron had already shown himself in favor of extending the booster dose to all adults, believing that “that’s a bit the meaning of the story”. A few hours later, the Haute Autorité de Santé recommended a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for people aged 40 and over. “The extension of the recall to under 50s will be studied soon”, then announced Olivier Véran on Twitter.

The council recalls in this opinion that according to several recent studies, there are “a decrease over time in the effectiveness of the primary vaccination against infections (symptomatic or not) by the Delta variant, from 80-90% two months after the second dose to 50% at six months”, a decline which continues thereafter.

The effectiveness of the booster, it runs for at least two and a half months after the injection. But the authors note that there is still a lack of data on the adverse effects of the booster in younger people, as few countries have adopted the third dose for their entire population to date.

The document also sheds light on anti-Covid treatments already authorized in France, such as Ronapreve, which it recommends for people who cannot be protected by vaccination, as well as oral antiviral treatments, currently in progress. assessment by regulatory authorities, which should “quickly be available in France”.

Experts therefore recommend early detection and the prescription of these drugs for those most at risk to limit the number of contaminations and serious cases in the months to come.

Guest of LCI Thursday, November 18, Clarisse Lhoste, president of Merck France, had indicated that the anti-viral drug Molnupiravir, the pill Merck, “will be available in pharmacies in France in December”. The next day, the European Medicines Agency authorized the anti-covid tablet in an emergency.

Among its recommendations, the group of experts also points out the importance of continuing the primary vaccination course, unvaccinated people having “a risk of around 12 times higher for hospitalization and stay in critical care”, but also to ensure the maintenance of barrier gestures and the use of the test “at the slightest symptom”even in vaccinated people.