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France rules both parents must agree to vaccinate child against Covid

The Local France
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France rules both parents must agree to vaccinate child against Covid
A child receives a Covid vaccine in France. From now one, children aged 5-11 need permission from both parents to get vaccinated. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

The French Health Ministry has indicated that both parents must give permission before children aged 5-11 can get a Covid vaccine. But how does this actually work?

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Depending on the age of their children, parents in France may have to give permission for them to get vaccinated against Covid-19. 

Vaccination was opened to all children aged 5-11 in December.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry said that both parents must give permission for children aged 5-11. Only one parent can attend the vaccination appointment, which means the second parent must sign an attestation sur l'honneur - a document declaring that they are ok for their child to get vaccinated. You can find a template HERE

At the appointment, the parent attending will be asked to fill out the pre-vaccine medical questionnaire, specially adapted for younger children – you can find a copy of the form here.

READ MORE  How children aged 5-11 can get the Covid vaccine in France

For children aged 12-15, only one parent needs to give their permission, which must be provided in paper format. The authorities working at the vaccination site will keep this document. 

For teenagers aged 16 and older, no parental permission is required. 

If they want to get vaccinated, all children and teenagers must also give their oral consent at the vaccination site itself, after being briefed by the person administering the dose. 

One parent is allowed to accompany anyone under the age of 18 to their vaccination appointment. 

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What vaccine will my child receive? 

Children aged 5-11 receive a vaccine Pfizer vaccine that is three times weaker than the adult dose given to children over the age of 12. 

According to the Health Ministry, there are some 400 health centres offering vaccination for children. France received stocks of close to 2 million of these adapted doses for children in January and will have more than 6 million available by the end of February. 

Children aged 5-11 can receive their second dose 18-24 days after their first. 

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