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5:07 p.m. : Having said that, I understand very well that the use of a new vaccine for children arouses some fear among parents. But we have on the one hand a vaccine whose efficacy and safety profile is known to be excellent, and on the other hand a virus whose long-term consequences for children are not known.
So I think families need to talk to each other and to their doctor. Again, I recommend vaccination of children, but there are unknowns about the long term issues of the vaccine as well as disease, and therefore I am not in favor of making this vaccination compulsory.
5:06 p.m. : As I wrote in a column written with colleagues and published in The world, I think we have all the arguments to recommend vaccination of children. In the United States, Covid has become the leading cause of death in children. More than two million of them have been vaccinated without any reports of side effects.
In France, during the last week of November, 132 children were hospitalized for Covid. Since the start of the epidemic, there have been 13 children who have died from Covid. Although these numbers may seem small, they are illnesses and deaths that cannot be accepted because they are preventable. Children are vaccinated against measles, rubella, polio … even though these diseases no longer kill in France. There is no reason to deny children the protection we enjoy as adults.
5:06 p.m. : hello, what do you think about vaccinating children under 12?
4:59 p.m. : Scientifically, I have no data to answer your question formally. Common medical sense leads me to believe that this situation is harmless.
4:59 p.m. : Hello FI. What risk (s) are there in getting vaccinated when you have the Covid but you ignore it?
5:02 p.m. : The correlation between the level of antibodies in the blood and the protection against infection is not perfect – far from it. Moreover, in no country is it recommended to do a serology before vaccination. Protection relies on two mechanisms, antibodies and what is called cellular immunity. The advantage of the booster dose is to stimulate this cellular immunity, more than to produce additional antibodies.
4:57 p.m. : Hello why impose a “3rd dose” if during a serology test our immunity is already very strong?
4:55 p.m. : I think it’s neutral. In total, these three vaccines make it possible to obtain the same result, producing antibodies against the Spike protein of the coronavirus.
4:55 p.m. : Hello team, thank you for giving us the opportunity to ask questions of Mr. William Dab. Here is mine: I received my 3rd dose which means that with it I will have had Astra, then Moderna then Pfizer. Won’t this mixture hamper my resistance to Delta and Omicron? Is this mixture a good or bad thing or a completely neutral thing?
4:53 p.m. : There is no published data to answer your question.
4:53 p.m. : Are we more protected if we have already been infected and have been vaccinated? Compared to those simply vaccinated.
4:53 p.m. : Currently, we can consider that the fact of having had Covid-19 after two doses constitutes a kind of booster dose. So, in the immediate future, you do not have to do anything more to protect yourself, other than to continue to apply the barrier measures, in particular because of the emergence of the Omicron variant. There are a lot of people in this situation and within a few months, we will be able to tell you if a third vaccine dose is of interest to you.
4:52 p.m. : Hello, I caught the Covid after my 2 vaccines. I canceled my recall because I was sick. Should I do it anyway? At what deadline? And what will be the impact on my health pass? Thank you
4:52 p.m. : Hello, vaccinated with 2 doses, I have just caught the Covid, probably from one of my children. How soon can I get my 3rd dose at once? Same question for my son who was supposed to take his 1st dose at the beginning of January but who tested positive: in how long will he be able to receive his 1st dose? Thank you for your answer.
5:03 p.m. : There is currently no recommendation, in France as in other countries, for this fourth dose. However, the new treatments that are coming can protect you if you take them early after your symptoms start. More than a fourth dose on which it is too early to take a position, pay attention to your state of health, and if in doubt, consult to receive the treatments that have just obtained their marketing authorization.
4:49 p.m. : Hello, immune depressed, I received my 3rd dose last July, should I receive a 4th dose?
4:46 p.m. : We already know that double vaccines are less well protected against the Omicron variant, with an efficiency of around 70%. It is too early to have data on triple vaccinees. It is reasonable to believe that the third dose offers additional protection, but this is not yet quantified. Whether it is the Delta variant or the Omicron variant, the third dose is highly recommended, especially since it does not induce any additional risk of adverse effects.
4:46 p.m. : Can you remind us why the booster dose is important even though it seems that the new variant is resistant to it?
4:43 p.m. : If we had not had the vaccine, we would have had around 50,000 additional deaths, hospitals would have been saturated and we would have been confined again.
4:43 p.m. : What are vaccines used for since the epidemic is on the rise again?
5:04 p.m. : You are right, the preventive measures at school are very imperfectly applied in the field. The latest Institut Pasteur study shows that having a child in primary school increases the risk of catching Covid-19 by 50%. It is therefore obvious that children play an active role in the contamination of the entire population.
4:41 p.m. : Hello 1 question for William Dab: do we have any idea of the impact of the management of the epidemic at school on the spread of the virus? It is obvious that staff and students are contaminated at school since general measures are not applied. Massive screening, isolation during incubation … Thank you
4:38 p.m. : Hello William Dab. Around 200 cases of Omicron detected in France. But do we have a sequencing strategy sufficient to identify almost all cases of Omicron? Thank you.
4:37 p.m. : I cannot answer you without knowing if you have a complete vaccination or not. If you are fully immunized, with a booster dose, and following the barrier measures, in a well ventilated room, I would say it is doable. If you were vaccinated during your pregnancy, your baby will be protected too.
4:37 p.m. : Hello, my stepfather tested positive yesterday and I have a 1 month old baby. Is it dangerous to have Christmas together? Thank you.
4:35 p.m. : Dear colleague, you are absolutely right: if there had been only the Delta variant, we would be crossing the peak of this 5th wave. The thunderous arrival of the Omicron variant no longer allows us to expect such a favorable development.
Regarding your second question, all I can tell you is that it is obvious that this is one of the decision criteria of our governments, it is inevitable.
4:34 p.m. : Hello I would like to ask Mr. William DAB two questions. I am a general practitioner and for me there will be 2 problems. The first with Omicron, which will create a wave on an already high wave crest: is my reasoning wrong? The second, I am afraid of a political management of this wave before Christmas and especially before the elections where it is necessary to annoy the voters as little as possible: is my anxiety justified?
4:32 p.m. : The situation is very fragile. The Omicron variant is much more contagious than the Delta variant, so even if it is less virulent, it will produce more serious cases, because the number of infected people will be greater. There are currently 2,900 people in intensive care, the staff are tired, there are beds that cannot be opened for lack of caregivers … So yes, we must use all the weapons at our disposal so that the end of the year is not catastrophic.
4:32 p.m. : Hello. Why would new measures be necessary in the fight against Covid-19? Granted, Omicron is / would be more contagious, but more benign, right? Hospitals are shaking, but holding up, right? It will pass without it breaking, right?
4:28 p.m. : Hello everyone ! I am William Dab, medical epidemiologist, former director general of health, and I will try to answer your questions.
4:26 p.m. : William Dab, former Director General of Health, is with us for an hour to answer your questions. This chat with him starts now!
13:44 : We are pleased to receive from 4:30 p.m. in chat with the editorial staff the epidemiologist William Dab, former director general of health. Ask him your questions now in this live!