Vaccination of 5-11 year olds, generalized since December 22, is progressing slowly in France. A week ago, only 4% of children in this age group had received a first dose. How to explain that other countries are going faster than us? Elements of response from our Spanish neighbors and in Israel.
A consensual campaign in Spain
In Spain, the vaccination of 5-11 year olds started on December 15 with a bang. Of the 3.3 million children concerned (ie 7% of the Spanish population), more than 55% have already received their first dose in less than two months. The figures are excellent but remain below forecasts.
The authorities had set the target of 70% of this age group to be vaccinated during the week of February 7. However, the daily La Vanguardia published an article on Monday morning where it is precisely a question of the slowdown in the vaccination of children. According to experts, this is due in particular to the Omicron variant and its high incidence in children under 11, but also to the strategy put forward last January by the Spanish authorities who planned to monitor Covid-19 like the seasonal flu. . A way to trivialize the disease which would have led some parents to relax and not vaccinate their children.
Coronavirus, hey | Arranca la vacunación infantil contra la COVID-19 en España https://t.co/sCBDXmbpIz a través de @rtve
— Carolina Sucre H. (@carolinasucre) December 15, 2021
Despite this slowdown, how can these results, which are far above those of France, be explained? The most determining factor is, without a doubt, the vaccine culture which is very strong in Spain. Anti-vaccine movements remain very marginal. The Spanish Association of Pediatricians has, moreover, just added the anti-Covid vaccine to the vaccination schedule for children and this has not caused any controversy. Which shows how little mistrust there is in Spain towards this vaccine.
However, the campaign is not advancing at the same pace across the country. There are strong disparities between regions. In Galicia, for example, 82% of children aged 5 to 11 received their first dose and 74% in Asturias. In contrast, only 33% of 5-11 year olds have been vaccinated in the Balearic Islands and 39% in Catalonia. According to experts, these differences are due, on the one hand, to the debate on the need to vaccinate this age group, which has been more intense in certain regions and has raised more reluctance on the part of parents.
On the other hand, the question of accessibility to the vaccine seems decisive. Indeed, in Galicia or Asturias, the health services automatically summon parents via SMS and set them an appointment to take their children to be vaccinated. On the contrary, in the Balearic Islands, Madrid or Catalonia, it is the families who have to make an appointment, which seems less efficient.
Israelis less in a hurry than their government
Israel, a pioneering country in adult vaccination, authorized the vaccination of all children over the age of five from November. Authorities are even talking about doses that may soon be available for infants. And the government insists: “You need to get your children vaccinated”. But the campaign is slipping. Only a quarter of the children concerned have received their doses of vaccine. Some parents believe that the government has rushed a bit on the vaccination of the little ones. Others wait for additional studies, not wanting “do more harm than good”.
And then, some families think that the Covid-19 does not reach serious forms in children. To which the experts respond with a call for caution. Because if children are less sick than adults, they can have a long Covid or develop a pediatric multi-systemic inflammatory syndrome (PIMS). Complications against which the vaccine protects, hammer Israeli scientists and doctors. Above all, the vaccine against Covid-19 in 5-11 year olds would tend to reduce the spread of the Omicron virus, which is much more contagious than the previous variants. Massive vaccination of this age group thus protects the general population.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accompanied his son David as he received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine today.
“I call on all Israeli parents to come and have their children vaccinated. It is safe and it safeguards our children.”https://t.co/aiFv5ylXhr pic.twitter.com/NRAQ1NcFSh
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 23, 2021
In the occupied Palestinian territories, vaccination centers are almost empty for lack of a vaccination campaign targeting children. Generally speaking, only half of Palestinians are triple vaccinated. It is not specific to younger people. And the contamination records jump because the Omicron variant circulates, mainly via children, and therefore in schools. The government has closed schools and nurseries for 10 days. Distance learning is back, which does not please everyone, explains Samer Nemer, director of a school in Ramallah: “It is on that virtual learning is really far from education. There is no doubt that there are very big problems with regard to academic success. It is a heavy burden for the students, but also for the teachers, and for the school administration.”
A vaccination campaign is planned in schools in the Palestinian territories, after they reopen on February 12.