INTERVIEW – Guests of Darius Rochebin on LCI, this Saturday, epidemiologist Dominique Costagliola and infectious disease specialist Enrique Casalino say they are in favor of the injection of a third dose to regain control of the virus. This shot of the vaccine “will help the immune system have a better, longer lasting response.”
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A third dose for all? In France, as elsewhere in Europe, the Covid-19 epidemic is skyrocketing. “The fifth wave is here”, recognized the spokesperson of the government Gabriel Attal, Wednesday, November 17. “The epidemic is accelerating everywhere and the virus is gaining ground.“The bar of 20,000 new contaminations in 24 hours has been systematically crossed over the last four days in France (20,294 cases were identified Wednesday 17th, 20.366 Thursday 18th, 21.220 Friday 19th and 22.678 Saturday 20th). in exponential growth that we had not seen since August 25.
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Covid-19: the challenge of vaccination
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To stop this epidemic resumption, the question of the third dose appears inevitable. Indeed, the effectiveness of the vaccine against the risk of infection decreases over time, from the 6th month after the second injection. “This drop in efficiency is all the more important, depending on age and co-morbidities”, explains epidemiologist Dominique Costagliola, research director at Inserm, guest of Darius Rochebin on LCI, Saturday, November 20. This booster, only accessible to over 65s and people at risk of severe forms, would boost protection against the virus.
We should have been much more reactive and proactive
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“Very clearly, we have studies which show that when we have had this booster, we have a gain in efficiency”, says the biostatistician. On the basis of these data, the reception spectrum will gradually open up, since from December 1, 50-64 year olds will be eligible. In a notice published on Friday, November 19, the High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended extending the injection to 40 years and over. For Dominique Costagliola, “there is no question to ask”, “a third dose will help the immune system to have a better response. We can therefore hope for a more lasting response.”
The time for questions has passed, we must now act because, on the third dose, “we are already late”, deplores the infectious disease specialist Enrique Casalino on LCI. “We should have been much more proactive, much more reactive, (…) with a communication strategy much more enthusiastic, less timid and with much more convincing arguments, probably adapted to each of the populations that we must vaccinate.” “HAS says we should start (the third dose, editor’s note) at 40 and we are told that we will think, but think about what? “, rebounds Dominique Costagliola.
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Moreover, the epidemiologist regrets that “does not make the debate compared to childhood immunization“, the famous 5-11 age group. “I find that there is no good reason that a child, even if the risk is very low, should die or be hospitalized because of the Covid”, she argues. “What we see, for example, of the deployment of the campaign in the United States, where there are already more than a million children vaccinated, suggests that the risk (vaccination) is not very high. “ For Dominique Costagliola, “we must adopt all the measures that minimize the damage.” “Vaccination is one of them. Therefore, I think that indeed, for all over 12 years old, it will be necessary to go towards the third dose”, she believes.
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Generalize the third dose to everyone, yes, but “We must not forget that we must continue to vaccinate people who are not yet vaccinated today”, intimate Enrique Casalino, also medical director of the Bichat hospital in Paris. Some 6.5 million French people over the age of 12 have still not received the slightest dose. “It’s a problem because these people explain an important part of the circulation of the virus. (…) It’s a mathematical phenomenon. The more the virus will circulate, the more we will see a certain number of people, even vaccinated, who could get sick and have serious forms. “
