lively debate on the vaccination of children as the start of the school year approaches

Scientists are studying the question of vaccination against Covid-19 for children under 12. Two weeks before the start of the school year, a group of doctors, infectious disease specialists and teachers are sounding the alarm in a column published in The world. It demands firm action. The concern rises. According to the Pasteur Institute, 50,000 children and adolescents could be infected every day from September. The cause: the more contagious Delta variant.

Ten times more young patients in six weeks

But the vaccination of the youngest is not “topical“for the government. “It’s really the 12-17 year olds who are concerned”, insists the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer. Thursday, August 19, 58 children between 0 and 9 years old are hospitalized. A figure twice as large as in August 2020. The number of cases has also exploded, rising from 856 at the end of June to more than 8,500 at the beginning of August. “Those under 12 are 14% of the population, points out infectious disease specialist Catherine Hill, so 86% of the population would be vaccinated, so that would be good” to get closer to herd immunity. In the United States, Pfizer and Moderna have started clinical trials on this age group.