Benjamin Davido, infectious disease doctor, medical director and Covid-19 referent at Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine), was the guest of “8:30 am franceinfo “, Friday November 26, 2021. Booster dose, new South African variant. He answers questions from Marc Fauvelle and Salhia Brakhlia.
The booster dose has “no more” side effects than the previous ones
“It is a vaccine boost which makes it possible to restore a certain margin of safety”, says Benjamin Davido, about the vaccine booster campaign. “Protection is both individual, because we divide by ten the probability of becoming infected, which is enormous, and at the same time collective because we reduce the circulation of the virus”, he continues. “It is necessary, there is a benefit”, for the population and for the hospital, estimates the infectious disease specialist, even if he recognizes that it is impossible, at this stage, to know how the epidemic will behave.
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According to his observations, the people who are currently entering the hospital are either “particularly old”, who were among the first to be vaccinated and “who have not yet benefited from this third dose”, either for “8 out of 10 patients”, these are “people who have gone through vaccination”. “We still too often hear stories from people telling us, it’s a shame I hesitated, I went there and I didn’t know. It’s always the same observation in the hospital”, says Benjamin Davido.
“There is no increase in side effects.”
Dr Benjamin Davidoon franceinfo
Regarding side effects, with this booster dose, “there are, but there are not more” than with previous doses. These are, according to the specialist, “exactly the same as with the first two injections” : “pain at the injection site, fatigue”, “minor symptoms that disappear within 48 hours”. The infectious disease specialist thus encouraged pregnant women to “do their booster dose”, specifying that “during breastfeeding, the antibodies will pass into breast milk and protect the child”.
On the other hand, concerning the vaccination of children under 11, the infectious disease specialist is more reserved. “Today, the priority is the booster dose, if we change the doctrine, that we engage on children, I believe that the French will no longer understand anything”, specifies Benjamin Davido, fearing in addition “a traffic jam” in making appointments and vaccination centers. “The real question”, according to him, it is whether with the recall campaign “We will be good enough to control the circulation of the virus and crush the wave.” “If we do not succeed, I have no doubt that we will have to follow suit on the vaccination of the youngest”, he assured.
Covid-19: the new variant “will have trouble getting through the 3rd dose”
The new variant spotted in South Africa “will have trouble getting through the 3rd dose”, says Benjamin Davido. With the booster dose, a “dose of boost, we will regain vaccine efficacy”. “We will see more and more variants appear, we must not panic, we just have to understand that it is the result of the fact that we were not fast enough in the action, so we must act even faster on vaccination “, he adds.
In addition, Benjamin Davido believes that suspending flights between South Africa and Europe “is illusory”. “When there is a water leak, we try to turn off the tap, that is not always enough, we have to call the plumber, in this case our plumber, here is the vaccine”, said the infectious disease specialist. “Let’s try to ensure that all the means implemented to slow down the circulation of the virus are put in place”, he concludes.
Find the entire “8h30 franceinfo” of Friday, November 26, 2021: