The High Authority for Health (HAS) now recommends mass vaccination of children against the flu. To do this, it also recommends the use of vaccines by nasal spray. But what is it?
Good news for little ones who fear bites. After years of debate, French children could be vaccinated en masse against the flu. The High Authority for Health (HAS) having recommended this Thursday to vaccinate the youngest from 2 years old to fight against the spread of the disease.
The idea is not to make it compulsory but to ensure that vaccination against seasonal flu is integrated into the vaccination schedule so that it is offered each year to children without comorbidities aged 2 to 17 years old. .
“A simpler method of administration”
As such, health authorities recommend all available influenza vaccines but advise using a nasal spray vaccine instead, such as Fluenz Tetra, developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory. Made available in France since December 2020, it is currently not very present in vaccination campaigns on a national scale.
Rather than better efficiency, it has the advantage of favoring a less irritating gesture than an injection. “This simpler mode of administration – spraying in the nose – should indeed be better accepted by children and their parents”, judges the HAS in its opinion published Thursday.
According to the platform pediatrician-onlinefounded by pediatrician Arnault Pfersdorff, this nasal vaccine is “composed of four strains of influenza virus, in accordance with WHO recommendations”: namely “2 type A strains (H1N1 and H3N2) as well as two type B ( Yamagata and Victoria)”.
It is also strongly recommended by the High Council for Public Health (HCSP) for children at risk.
300,000 doses stored by the State
According the Vidal, this vaccine is not currently marketed in France, unlike other countries such as the United Kingdom. Its delivery in France is however ensured by community pharmacists, on medical prescription.
The doses made available come from the stock set up by the State to meet the strong demand for seasonal flu vaccines observed this year and to compensate for the insufficient supply through the usual ordering circuit. A state stock which stood in 2020 at 300,000 doses nationwide.
In concrete terms, the vaccination schedule for this nasal vaccine depends on the patient’s vaccination history: i.e. two doses (one dose corresponds to two sprays) are required one month apart in children who have not never been vaccinated against seasonal influenza, and a single dose in children who have already been vaccinated against seasonal influenza before.
