Papillomavirus vaccine: teenagers must remain lying down or seated after the injection, recommends the ANSM
A schoolboy had a fatal fall after post-vaccination discomfort two weeks ago. Adolescents vaccinated against human papillomavirus must remain lying or sitting on the ground for fifteen minutes following the injection, recommends the Medicines Agency (ANSM).
In a document published on its website Tuesday, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) updates the “post-vaccination surveillance” instructions for healthcare professionals. As one of the main side effects of the vaccine is the risk of “feeling unwell”, “it is important that simple measures are put in place to avoid any injury: vaccinated people must remain lying down (on floor mats or blankets) ) or sitting on the ground leaning against a wall in a clear space,” explains the agency.
Until now, according to the instructions for vaccination in college, organized since October, only monitoring of students within a quarter of an hour following the injection was recommended, without specifying in what context. A note from the ARS (regional health agency) Île-de-France published in June explained that students should be seated on “chairs” or “armchairs”, and recommended lying down students who were feeling unwell.
An investigation into manslaughter
This change of instructions comes following the death of a 5th grade student from Saint-Dominique college in Saint-Herblain near Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) at the end of October, following a heavy fall. The Nantes public prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation into manslaughter, indicated that “the schoolboy, who did not feel well shortly after the injection, was seated on a chair and fell backwards on his head after a faintness “.
The ANSM specifies that post-vaccination discomfort, sometimes brief loss of consciousness, is “ uncommon and quickly resolvedmay correspond to a psychogenic reaction to the injection” and “may be accompanied by tremors or stiffness”.
The campaign to vaccinate middle school students in 5th grade against human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of many cancers such as cervical cancer, was launched at the beginning of October in France. It is not obligatory.
