2024-02-29 04:18:00
The Ministry of Health announced the opening of a new vaccination campaign once morest Covid-19. Who are the targeted populations?
This is the seventh time that health authorities have set a vaccination appointment with the French since the start of the health crisis. This Tuesday, the Ministry of Health announced that a new vaccination campaign once morest Covid-19 would be organized in April. This promises to be very different from that which was carried out last fall. : this time, France is not facing an increase in virus contamination. However, a new variant – called JN.1 – has since established itself in France. The vaccines currently available remain effective once morest this new strain.
Why a new campaign?
The vaccination campaign which has just been announced takes place in a viral context very different from that of last October: in its latest situation bulletin dated February 21, Santé Publique France mentioned “declining” virological indicators and at “low levels”. Following the advice of the High Authority of Health, the Ministry of Health above all justifies this new vaccination campaign with a prevention policy, emphasizing the “unpredictable nature of a new epidemic wave of Covid-19 and the emergence of new, more virulent variants likely to lead to a decline in immunity once morest severe forms and death.
But this campaign – which will start on April 15 and end on June 16 – also aims to strengthen or maintain the vaccine immunity conferred during the previous operation of this type, several months ago.
In fact, over time, the level of antibodies present in the body decreases, so the immune system must be stimulated once more. In practice, you will have to wait a minimum of six months following your last injection or your last virus infection to obtain a new vaccination booster.
Who is concerned ?
This new vaccination campaign is primarily aimed at vulnerable people: in its opinion, the High Authority of Health mentions “people aged 80 and over, as well as residents of nursing homes/USLDs (long-term care units) and immunocompromised people. People suffering from comorbidities and pregnant women are also invited to be vaccinated. Added to this are people living around or in regular contact with immunocompromised or vulnerable people, including professionals in the health and medico-social sectors, students and professionals in the health sectors (working in establishments or self-employed) , students and professionals of the emergency and fire services and people who are, on a daily basis, in contact with immunocompromised patients. If you are not part of the targeted audience, it is entirely possible to obtain a booster vaccination. This will be covered 100% by Health Insurance.
What vaccines are used?
Two vaccines are favored for this new vaccination campaign: Pfizer / BioNTech, which uses so-called messenger RNA technology and as a second line, the Novavax recombinant protein vaccine. Both proved effective once morest XBB.1.5, the variant which was then dominant last October: “a vaccine booster adapted to XBB.1.5 during the last autumn campaign conferred significant protection once morest hospitalization for Covid-19 “, punctuates Public Health France. And these vaccines remain effective once morest the JN.1 variant: a Danish survey dated October 2023 thus affirms that the vaccination booster makes it possible to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 76%.
What remains then is the follow-up of previous operations: the previous campaign was primarily intended for those over 65 and vulnerable people… barely a third of the targeted population received a booster vaccination. Those over 80 took up the exercise more: 36.8% of them received a reminder in recent months. Figures which remain far too low for the health authorities, particularly among health professionals, who are also affected by the recommendations. Santé Publique France thus affirms that only 10 to 12% of health professionals have carried out a vaccination booster.
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