Third dose: appointments open this Monday, here’s all you need to know – archyworldys

A new vaccination campaign is about to begin, and it was not initially planned. As of this Monday, all people aged at least 65 and those with comorbidities can book a time slot – in particular on Doctolib – to receive a booster injection against Covid-19. The injections must officially begin Wednesday, provided that a period of 6 months passes with the last injection.

Who is concerned ?

While only people who are at least 80 years old and those suffering from a very high risk disease of severe form were initially concerned, the target was widened last week. Press on an opinion from the High Authority for Health (HAS) issued on Tuesday 24 August, the government announced that all people aged 65 and over and those suffering from comorbidities (diabetes, obesity, etc.) would be invited to be vaccinated again.

“Other population groups are likely to benefit in the course of the fall from a vaccination booster, according to the evolution of scientific knowledge ”, adds the General Directorate of Health (DGS) in a note sent to health professionals on Friday August 27.

Can we speak of a “third dose”?

If we want to be precise, no. Indeed, it is rather an additional dose compared to the complete regimen already received. However, if the majority of vaccinated people have received two doses and will therefore be called upon to receive a third, those who have had Covid in the past and those vaccinated with Janssen have only received one, while those who are immunocompromised have. already received three. Respectively, it will therefore be a second or a fourth injection for them. This is why it is more correct to speak of a “booster dose”, even though the expression “third dose” has become more prevalent in the public debate.

When will they be administered?

The schedule has accelerated. Monday, August 23, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran had indicated on BFMTV that the vaccination of 65 years and over would be coupled with that – traditional – against the flu, that is to say from the end of October. Finally, everyone involved will be able to be bitten from this Wednesday September 1st, provided that the last injection was at least 6 months old.

“Given this 6-month period, the administration of the booster dose against Covid 19 will correspond to the period of the seasonal flu vaccination campaign for a majority of these people,” notes the DGS. In nursing homes, the starting signal will be given on September 13.

The minimum time since the last injection is 3 months for severely immunocompromised patients, “since it is judged by the medical team that the fourth dose would improve the immune response”. Particularity for the million people vaccinated with the Janssen product, supposed to be single-dose: the booster dose (therefore the 2nd dose) must be administered at least 4 weeks after the first. In other words, whether one of them was vaccinated in May or at the end of July, she can be bitten again in the next few days.

What vaccine will we receive?

The answer is simple: whatever vaccine is used for the initial injections, the booster will be a messenger RNA vaccine, indifferently Pfizer or Moderna. This HAS recommendation was followed by the government.

Do you need a booster dose if you have been infected in the meantime?

No. “To date, patients who have contracted Covid-19 after their first vaccination schedule should not be offered a booster dose,” it is clearly written in the DGS document. However, vaccines do not completely prevent you from being infected with the virus, but it seems that they reduce the risk by about 50%. A certain number of vaccinated people were therefore infected afterwards and are not affected by the booster doses for the moment.

What is the benefit of these booster doses?

Provide a “boost” effect, as HAS says. The body has studied many French and especially international studies. Despite their “methodological limitations”, these “suggest a decrease in the efficacy over time of all vaccines, in particular against the Delta variant”. This is especially true for infections and symptomatic forms, protection against severe forms remaining very high.

Initial data from Israel, in which more than 60% of the population aged 50 and over received a third dose of vaccine in a month, suggest the existence of a real effect. According to the Ministry of Health, protection against infection ten days after a third dose would be four times higher than after “only” two doses.

Will a booster dose be necessary to keep my health pass?

No, assures the government. “There will be no impact of the third dose on the health pass. Whether you are going to take your reminder or not, you will keep the benefit of the health pass, ”guaranteed Olivier Véran on Thursday 26 August.

Some point out, however, that the government has already reversed certain statements during this health crisis. For example, on April 29, Emmanuel Macron had indicated that the health pass “Cannot be compulsory to access places of everyday life such as restaurants, theaters and cinemas”.

What do international bodies say about it?

On Tuesday, the HAS indicated that its opinion, “given at the request of the government to allow the organization and anticipation of the recall campaign”, was “conditioned on the validation of this recall by the European Medicines Agency (EMA ) ”. The latter has not yet ruled on the need for such additional injections. But France will therefore not wait, unlike usual. In The JDD this Sunday, the vaccinologist Daniel Floret, member of the technical committee of vaccinations of the HAS, indicated that “the vaccine policy is the prerogative of the States”. “We were not going to risk seeing the health system overwhelmed to act,” he blurted out, seeming to go against the official opinion of the HAS.

For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) remain very reserved. On several occasions in recent weeks, including August 18, its officials have estimated that “current data does not indicate that recalls are necessary.” In the eyes of the international body, the priority must be to vaccinate the least developed countries first.