Until now, only the meningococcal C vaccine was required for children under 1 year old. This obligation will now also concern meningococci A, B, W and Y.
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Vaccination against meningitis, currently compulsory in infants only for meningococci C, will be expanded from the beginning of 2025, according to a new vaccination schedule published Friday April 26 by the health authorities. Vaccination of children under 1 year old against other families of meningococci (A, B, W and Y) will also be compulsory from next year, as recommended by the High Authority for Health (HAS).
Currently, only vaccination against meningococci C is obligatory in infants, that against meningococci B is only recommended. “If the implementation of barrier measures during the Covid-19 crisis allowed a notable drop in these infections, the latest data shows a resumption of the circulation of meningococci in Francehighlighted the HAS in March. Serogroups W and Y have made significant progress, particularly among infants and young people.”
A single vaccine, called tetravalent, will now target A, C, W and Y. Given separately in three successive doses (3, 5 and 12 months), another will always target the B strain. Meningitis are particularly serious infections of the brain and spinal cord. They are fatal one time in ten and, the rest of the time, often cause significant neurological sequelae. They are most often caused by a virus, but also sometimes by bacteria, called meningococci.
