a new vaccination campaign will begin in mid-April for the oldest and most vulnerable

The objective is always to “protect the most fragile likely to develop serious forms”. A new vaccination campaign against Covid-19 will begin from mid-April in France, the Ministry of Health announced Tuesday February 27. “For those aged 80 and over, immunocompromised people, whatever their age, and residents of nursing homes, a new vaccination will be offered in the spring, in accordance with the opinion of the High Authority of Health”declared the Director General of Health, Grégory Emery, during a press conference.

The High Authority for Health (HAS), requested by the ministry, recently decided in favor of “a vaccination campaign [du 15 avril au 16 juin] against Covid-19 for people aged 80 and over, as well as residents of nursing homes and long-term care units and immunocompromised people.. Any other person wishing a booster will, however, be able to claim it free of charge, provided they respect a period of three months after their last injection or Covid-19 infection.

A poorly followed campaign

The vaccines for the spring campaign will be first line that of Pfizer/BioNTech with messenger RNA targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant or second line that of Novavax with recombinant protein. The HAS had also recommended planning an extension until July 15, “if the epidemiological situation justifies it”. She also advised not to exclude a vaccination campaign “earlier or wider” if necessary. Barely a third of French people aged 65 and over have received a booster dose against Covid-19 since the start of this campaign, according to data from Public Health France. Those aged 80 and over were the most vaccinated (36.8%), where the rates range between 21.6% and 35.9% for other seniors.