Meningococcus B, whooping cough: the health authorities have slightly modified the list of recommended or mandatory injections.
Parents of young children know it well: the vaccination schedule summarizing the recommendations of the High Authority for Health is a must in the health record. This reference tool for all professionals is updated each year according to new knowledge and the epidemic context.
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Thus, vaccination against meningococcal B is now recommended for all infants between 2 months and 2 years, at the rate of 3 successive doses (normally at 3 months, 5 months and 12 months). It protects against a bacterium present in the throat of certain healthy carriers and which is transmitted between individuals by air, which can cause death by meningitis or septicemia. It is carried out with the Bexsero vaccine.
In addition, vaccination against whooping cough is recommended for pregnant women from the second trimester of pregnancy, favoring the period between 20 and 36 weeks of amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), in order to increase the transfer of maternal antibodies and to ensure optimal protection of the newborn until his own vaccination from 2 months. The duration of vaccine protection being short, this vaccination is recommended for each pregnancy, for all pregnant women.
Should we see this as a virtuous side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic? In a context highlighting the threat still posed by major infectious diseases, vaccination has made some progress, Public Health France also recalled on the occasion of European Vaccination Week.
encouraging sign
This is particularly the case for meningococcal C. The vaccination coverage of the first dose of the vaccine against meningococcal C has increased by 3.8 points compared to 2020, and that of the booster by 3.7 points. The catch-up of vaccination against meningococcal C has also increased by 2 to 5.4 points compared to 2020, and this in all age groups of children born before the vaccination obligation of 2018.
Another encouraging sign is the increase in vaccination coverage against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which protects against cancers of the cervix, throat and anus. Vaccination of 15-year-old girls has increased by 5.2 points between 2020 and 2021. It now reaches 45% for the first dose (out of 2 recommended), but remains far from the 60% target set by the 2014 cancer plan. -2019.
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This is why the vaccine is also recommended since 1is January 2021 to boys aged 11 to 14, as they are also susceptible to HPV infection and transmission. A year later, 6% of 15-year-olds had received their first dose. Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that a single dose of vaccine (France recommends Gardasil 9) could be enough to offer satisfactory protection: if Paris has not yet adopted this strategy, it could have its interest in improving public acceptance.
There remains the vaccination against seasonal influenza of people at risk of severe form, which again shows a decline (- 3.2 points), after an unprecedented jump of 8 points between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, under the effect of the Covid. With only 52.6% of target people (over 65, obese, pregnant women, etc.) protected, France is still struggling to achieve its national targets of 75%.