“The issue of vaccination for 5-11 year olds is quite legitimate and it is important for parents to be able to discuss it with their trusted doctor, pediatrician or general practitioner”, said Friday, December 17 on franceinfo Christèle Gras-Le Guen, president of the French Pediatric Society and head of the pediatric emergency department of the Nantes University Hospital, while the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE) spoke out in in favor of opening the vaccination against Covid-19 to all children aged 5 to 11, by insisting on leaving the choice to the parents.
franceinfo: Is the French Pediatric Society in favor of vaccination of 5-11 year olds?
Christèle Gras-Le Guen : We are very much in agreement with this position of the Ethics Committee, which is full of wisdom. He first emphasizes the uncertainty in which we find ourselves, and deciding in a context of uncertainty is complicated. And he finally proposes that this vaccination be offered and made available to families who would like it, and in no case made compulsory.
What are the uncertainties that worry you about this vaccination every 5-11 years?
The uncertainties are on certain very precise points. As much the effectiveness of this vaccine on the severe forms is entirely established on the data which one already has. The uncertainties that must be resolved quickly are the possible side effects that could appear once several million doses have been administered. This is information that we should have fairly quickly now. The other uncertainties are those on the circulation of the virus. What impact on the circulation of the virus, circulation in schools in particular, for which there are predictive models that have been made, but which remain models and for which we will have to be able to ascertain as we go. as the pandemic evolves.
Do we have data on the risk of side effects, knowing that the vaccination of children has already started in the United States?
The side effects that had been observed for adolescents occurred after the second dose of the vaccine, within eight to ten days. And so, it was necessary for this that we be able to administer enough second doses on the North American continent in particular, and that we be able to have the necessary hindsight to ensure the absence of signals. To date, to my knowledge, nothing has been communicated, which is rather reassuring. And therefore, we are waiting for validation to be able to recommend this vaccination to all parents who would like it.
Is this vaccination of all children from 5 to 11 years old a subject that is discussed in pediatrician offices?
In pediatric offices, currently, the wave concerns another virus, bronchiolitis. And so most pediatricians, pediatric services, general practitioners who see children today, are in a very different problem, which is to manage a particularly intense epidemic, particularly early. The issue of vaccination for 5-11 year olds is quite legitimate and it is important that parents can discuss it with their trusted doctor. It will obviously be their pediatrician or their attending physician. Families must have information that is enlightened, that is dispassionate, that is based on factual things, on data from the literature, and that we can share the uncertainties with them in full transparency.