Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years at risk of severe disease begins on December 15

The High Health Authority (HAS), in its opinion of 25 november 2021 and the Vaccine Strategy Steering Committee (VSC), in its opinion of 6 december 2021, recommend that vaccination be started as soon as possible for children aged 5 to 11 years at risk of developing severe COVID-19 and death, and for those living in close contact with an immunocompromised person.

As of December 15, 2021, nearly 400,000 children will be vaccinated to reach the most vulnerable children.

Which children are vaccinated?

The children involved in the vaccination campaign are children aged 5 to 11 years with at least one comorbidity that exposes them to severe COVID-19. They are also children who live in the home of a person who is immunocompromised or who has serious illnesses.

Which diseases are affected?

The list of diseases or co-morbidities concerned drawn up by the High Authority for Health and supplemented by the Vaccine Strategy Steering Committee (COSV) is as follows:

• Uncorrected congenital heart disease.
• Asthma requiring systemic corticosteroids, hospitalization, or ALD.
• Chronic liver disease.
• Chronic heart and respiratory diseases.
• Cancer being treated.
• Chronic kidney disease.
• Severe neuromuscular disability.
• Neurological diseases.
• Primary or secondary immunodeficiency (HIV infection or drug-induced).
• Obesity.
• Diabetes.
• Hematological malignancies.
• Sickle cell disease.
• Trisomy 21.

In addition to these conditions, there may be situations where, on a case-by-case basis, specialist doctors may offer vaccination to children because of a specific vulnerability conferring a major risk of severe forms of COVID-19.

What is the vaccine for children?

The vaccine given to children is the pediatric form of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is three times less dosed than the adult form of the vaccine given to people over 12 years of age. The vials are fitted with an orange cap to distinguish them from adult doses (with a purple cap) and avoid any errors.

Complete vaccination schedule

For children 5 to 11 years at risk of severe disease, the full vaccination schedule is 2 doses of vaccine 3 weeks apart. The second^e dose should occur 3 weeks after the first dose, except for the following two exceptions:

• children who have already contracted COVID-19 should receive only one dose;
• children who have contracted COVID-19 more than 15 days after the first dose of the vaccine should receive only one dose. The infection can be considered to represent a stimulation equivalent to the injection of a second dose of vaccine.

Children who have contracted COVID-19 less than 15 days after the first dose of the vaccine should be given 2^e dose 2 months after infection.

Where to get your child vaccinated?

Vaccination of the most at-risk 5- to 11-year-olds starts on 15 December 2021 in:

• health facilities and specialized services: CHU, pediatric hospitals, specialized facilities, medium and long-term care centers, facilities for children with disabilities...
• dedicated pediatric areas of certain vaccination centers for children with obesity, for example;
• City doctors' offices (at the end of December).

A pre-vaccination medical interview will be conducted routinely at the vaccination site. The doctor will check the child's eligibility for vaccination.

Except for severely immunocompromised children who will require two doses of vaccine, prompt serological testing is recommended prior to each vaccination. Depending on the test result, children may be given a one- or two-dose regimen.

The presence of at least one accompanying parent is necessary for the vaccination of children. A parental authorization form signed by at least one of the parents must also be given to the personnel of the vaccination site before the child is vaccinated. This form is the same as used for vaccination of adolescents aged 12 to 15 years. Healthcare professionals should keep this attestation after the injection in the same way as the parental authorization form for adolescents aged 12 to 15 years.

Possible extension of pediatric vaccination to all children aged 5-11 years

Further advice from the High Authority for Health, the National Advisory Council on Ethics (CCNE) and the Vaccine Strategy Guidance Council (COSV) on the opening and modalities of the vaccination campaign to all children aged 5 to 11 years is expected very soon. In the event of a favorable opinion, vaccination of all children aged 5 to 11 years will be possible in both the vaccination center and the medical offices from December 20, 2021.