The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 opens this Monday, October 2, ahead of schedule, while an epidemic rebound is observed. Who should get vaccinated? And with how much dose?
It begins two weeks in advance: the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 initially scheduled for October 17 opens this Monday, October 2. A decision taken by the Minister of Health on the recommendations of the Committee for Monitoring and Anticipation of Health Risks (Covars). “The Covid-19 epidemic started again a little earlier than expected. The first cases were observed during the summer and gradually increased in September. […] This means that [the virus] is still circulating “There was therefore no reason to wait any longer to start vaccinating”, underlined the president of Covars, Brigitte Autran at the microphone of Franceinfo this October 2. And the immunology specialist recalls the “unpredictable” and always “dangerous” nature of Covid-19.
Figures from the virus surveillance system confirm the epidemic rebound. “The visits [to the emergency room] for suspected Covid-19 [were] on the rise again” warned Public Health France (SPF) in its bulletin of September 12. An observation shared by SOS Médecins which noted a 19% increase in medical procedures for suspected Covid-19 on September 25. However, with a reduction in protection and active circulation of the virus “an upsurge in severe forms, particularly among vulnerable people” is possible according to SPF. And the vaccination campaign must prevent this risk.
The objective of the vaccination campaign is to “allow the most vulnerable people to benefit from a booster dose” quickly, insists Covars since mid-September. It is therefore logically the people at risk who are the first to be affected by the campaign: people aged at least 65, those with comorbidities, pregnant women, immunocompromised people and residents of nursing homes.
“Vaccination is also recommended for those who have regular contact” with these vulnerable people, specifies the public service website. But the vaccination campaign is not exclusive and “people who are not part of the targeted populations […] will also be able to receive, if they wish, a booster dose free of charge”.
After vaccination in two and then three doses against Covid-19, the vaccination schedule is significantly simplified for this campaign. “Regardless of the patient’s vaccination history, vaccination now consists of a single dose of vaccine” for people over 5 years old, specifies the Health Insurance website. For children under 5 years of age who have already been vaccinated or have been infected, “a single dose will be enough”, but for others the three-dose vaccination schedule is necessary.
The use of “vaccines adapted to the XBB.1.5 variant” – the majority circulating variant in the territory – is preferred and planned for the vaccination campaign. The messenger RNA vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech is “available” and “was designed to target the XBB.1.5 sublineage of the Omicron variant,” Health Insurance announced. Other vaccines such as Sanofi’s VidPrevtyn Beta or Novavax’s Nuvaxovid can be used. Note that the latter will only be adapted to XBB.1.5 in November.
Starting two weeks ahead of schedule, the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 will be organized later than that against seasonal flu. But from October 17, the two vaccines can be injected at the same time but at “two different injection sites”, i.e. one in each arm for example.
The Covid-19 vaccine is 100% covered by Health Insurance, like the flu vaccine, and can be administered in a pharmacy, at the doctor’s office, by a nurse, a midwife or even a surgeon. dentist. In healthcare establishments such as nursing homes, vaccination can be organized on site.
