The Minister of Health will seize the High Authority for Health (HAS) on the interest or not of recommending a second dose of vaccine against monkeypox (monkeypox), learned franceinfo, Wednesday September 14, from a close source folder. Since August 4 and the announcement of the extension of the period between the two doses by the government, the second dose is practically no longer injected by the vaccination centers, for lack of sufficient stocks.
François Braun took stock of the epidemic on Tuesday with the actors concerned and also intends to question the HAS on the possibility of intradermal injections – just under the skin – to save doses.
In this same opinion, the High Authority for Health must also rule on the possibility of extending vaccination to women who live with men who have sex with other men. With nearly 3,800 cases, the epidemic is “contained” in France, but only 91,000 people have so far been vaccinated, while 250,000 people at risk are eligible. The target could thus be widened.
The monkeypox vaccination schedule officially consists of two doses, or a single dose for people who have already been vaccinated against smallpox, and three doses for people who are immunocompromised. However, on August 4 and in order to allow everyone at risk to have access to the vaccine, the Ministry of Health announced that the time between the two doses, until then 28 days, was going to be extended for people not immunocompromised.
In addition, the vaccination experiment launched on August 10 in five pharmacies in Paris, Fréjus, Marseille and Lille, will not be extended, according to information from franceinfo. With regard to sex workers, François Braun also intends to set up a service check of 16.80 euros per day, during the 21 days of their isolation in the event of symptoms.
“Vaccination in the general population is not necessary at this stage”, according to the Ministry of Health. For now, the High Authority for Health recommends vaccinating people in contact around a probable or confirmed case of monkeypox, men who have sex with men reporting multiple sexual partners, trans people reporting sexual partners sex workers, people involved in prostitution and professionals in places of sexual consumption, regardless of the status of these places.
The deployment of vaccination centers is coordinated at regional level by the regional health agencies (ARS). “The entire metropolitan and overseas territory has access to a vaccination center”, is it written on the website of the Ministry of Health.