A 3rd dose of the anti-Covid vaccine for all, consider Fischer and Delfraissy – The HuffPost

via Associated Press

HEALTH – Ultimately, it will be up to Emmanuel Macron to decide. But the two main bodies he set up to help him manage the Covid-19 are clear: the resumption of the coronavirus epidemic and the 5th wave that France is preparing to face are likely to make a booster dose of the vaccine useful (also called 3rd dose) for all French people.

After an opinion from the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council chaired by Alain Fischer, it is the Scientific Council gathered around Jean-François Delfraissy which is in favor. “The Scientific Council supports the recommendations of the Orientation Council of the Vaccine Strategy on the fact that the evolution of the epidemic calls for considering a vaccination booster for the entire adult population 6 months after the primary vaccination”, perhaps we read in a notice sent to the executive on November 20 and published this Monday, November 22.

The double effect of the 3rd dose

For the scientific council, the generalization of the 3rd dose can have two effects. The first could be observed in the short term (that is to say before the end of 2021) on the saturation of hospitals. In fact, this booster – like the 2nd dose – limits severe and serious forms and can therefore limit the arrival of the oldest or most fragile people in the hospital. The second effect would be visible in the medium term (that is to say in spring 2022) since the recall could “limit the risk of epidemic resumption”. The 3rd dose can in fact restore the vaccine’s ability to slow down the circulation of the virus by preventing transmission, a capacity which decreases over the weeks after the 2nd dose.

The Head of State recently opened the door to generalization, but without formally committing to this path. “I would not be surprised if we gradually move towards booster shots for all adults who have been vaccinated, that’s the meaning of the story,” he said on Friday.

Today, only people over 65 and immunocompromised people are eligible for this booster dose, which takes place six months after the second dose. From December 15, this 3rd dose will be necessary to maintain the health pass. In the meantime, on December 1, this third dose will be open to those over 50 years old. The scientific council believes in its opinion that it will also have to include the health pass for this age group, “but with an appropriate time frame”.

A campaign for everyone from mid-December?

Regarding the possible generalization of the reminder to the entire population, the scientific council “wishes to insist” on a few points. The body chaired by Jean-François Delfraissy suggests opening it up as a priority to those over 40. If he considers that there is no problem of vaccine stock, the council considers on the other hand essential “to anticipate the organizational aspects of this new mass campaign which will run from mid-December 2021 to March 2022 ″.

Indeed, for several weeks, large vaccination centers have been closed. And if the executive announced the imminent reopening of certain vaccinodromes, it is necessary to articulate these platforms with general practitioners and pharmacists who are now integrated into the vaccination chain.

See also on The HuffPost: When Olivier Véran rejected the 3rd dose for the health pass