the future reimbursement of the vaccine for seniors is “very good news” according to an oncologist

“The vaccine costs 200 euros, so it is not at all accessible to everyone,” said Jérôme Barrière, Thursday on franceinfo.

“This is very good news since the vaccine costs 200 euros, so it is not at all accessible to everyone“, rejoices oncologist Jérôme Barrière, Thursday February 22 on franceinfo, a few hours after Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity, announced that the High Authority for Health (HAS) would issue its opinion this summer on the vaccine against the bronchiolitis virus for seniors, paving the way for its reimbursement by Social Security.

“Indirectly, it will be a benefit to relieve the hospital, but it is first and foremost a direct benefit for the people who will be protected,” adds the doctor. Bronchiolitis, well known for affecting infants, is also responsible for the deaths of 5 to 10,000 elderly people each year in France. It can even be more dangerous than the flu according to the health professional who details “a case fatality rate between 5 and 10%, with one death every 10 to 20 hospitalizations”.

The vaccine “more than 90% effective on severe forms”

The doctor has been in favor of reimbursement for this vaccine for several years. “It is already available but not refunded”, he specifies. Even if he regrets having lost a year, Jérôme Barrière hopes for vaccination next winter, subject to the evaluation of the High Authority of Health, expected this summer for this vaccine “more than 90% effective on severe forms of pulmonary infection”, the doctor says.

The vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) will be manufactured by the British laboratory GSK, Pfizer or Moderna, but no French laboratory is currently in the running. Faced with the French who might seem reluctant, the doctor undertakes to educate: “Our message will be to explain that no matter the origin, the main thing is that the vaccine is effective and well tolerated. In this situation, it does not matter where the innovation comes from,” he concludes.