Only one in 20 children aged 5 to 11 has been vaccinated against Covid-19 in France, a rate much lower than in Italy or the United States and even lower among disadvantaged families or those living in the South-East, according to a study published Tuesday.
This low vaccination rate is also notable among children at risk of severe form – less than 8% – for whom the vaccine represents a particularly important issue, adds the study by Santé publique France.
The first study on the use of vaccines against Covid-19 and in children published in France, this work examines data concerning 320,737 children aged 5 to 11 who received at least one dose of vaccine, or 5.3% of this population, between January 1, 2021 and November 15, 2023.
It highlights "a failure of the vaccination strategy in children with comorbidity" since only one child at risk in 13 aged 5 to 11 years has been vaccinated, and "regional and social disparities" in vaccination coverage.
Thus, "children living in an area with a low economic level were less vaccinated", reflecting social inequalities already observed during the pandemic, concerning the risk of infection and access to diagnostic tests, note the researchers (Ansm, Inserm, Simone Veil Faculty of Medicine, Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Paris-Saclay universities, APHP).
The vaccination rate also appears to be "significantly higher, while remaining low compared to adults", in the west as in Normandy (7.8%) and in Brittany (7.8%) while in the south, Paca (2.7%) and Occitanie (3.7%), display rates among the lowest in the country. A geographical variation which "could reflect the vaccination status of parents", observes the study.
For children without comorbidities, the study explains the "low" parental support for the possibility of having them vaccinated by a "very low frequency of severe forms in this age group."
Ultimately, the vaccination rates of French children are "well below the rates reported in Italy and the United States in the first months after the start of the vaccination campaign in children of the same age, i.e. 38% and 24% respectively.
These figures "reinforce the need for additional efforts to raise awareness and inform families about vaccination, particularly among children from disadvantaged backgrounds and suffering from chronic diseases", in order to "improve confidence in vaccines", the study underlines.
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