French officials urge residents to have Covid-19 vaccine booster shots three months after last dose. It will reduce the five-month rule even further.
French National Authority for Health released new guidelines on Friday. They reduced the time for boosters to two months, in an effort to boost immunity since Omicron infections are increasing.
According to the health organization, research has shown that vaccines provide around 80% protection up to 2 months. However, this drops to 34% at 4 months. Also, the body noted that the immune system seems to decline more rapidly with newer viruses.
The agency stated that patients who had received boosters were protected by up to 75% after two weeks. This suggests that the immune system may have been able to fight off another round of infection.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex had previously announced that, starting early next year, boosters would be permitted four months after a recipient’s last dose, with Friday’s decision cutting that period down even further.
Officials also reduced the time between boosters. They determined that teenagers at greater risk of contracting the virus could get an additional shot.
Both decisions come days after France authorized Covid jabs for children aged five and older, following suit of many western nations who’ve approved the shot for ever-younger age groups.
France set a national record for daily cases earlier in the week. This beats the November 2020 peak of 91,000 infections within a single day. The AFP reports that this high coincided with more testing in France, which could explain the unusually high number.
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