The number of doses sold at the end of November already represented nearly half of the 19 million eligible people in France. Last season, the epidemic was very severe.
The vaccination campaign against seasonal flu appears to be off to a good start a month after it was launched, French health authorities said on Tuesday, after a particularly severe epidemic in the previous season.
“At the start of the campaign, vaccination against seasonal flu attracted increasing attention,” reported the Directorate General of Health (DGS), a branch of the Ministry of Health.
As an indicator, DGS uses the number of vaccine doses sold by pharmacies: more than 8.3 million since the launch of the vaccination campaign on October 14, a clear increase (+22%) compared to last season and the previous season (+11%).
Almost more people have been vaccinated than last year
This issue is important because vaccination rates will still be low in 2024/2025, namely less than half (46.5%) of the eligible population. This low coverage has contributed to a particularly severe epidemic – more than 17,000 deaths – although lower vaccine effectiveness against circulating strains is also to blame.
At the current rate, the number of doses sold already represents almost half (43.7%) of the 19 million eligible people in France, where the epidemic has not yet officially started, although there are early signs among the youngest groups.
Although the Ministry of Health welcomed the encouraging signals, it warned that “it is too early to draw definite conclusions: the campaign has only just begun, and trends need to be confirmed in the coming weeks.”
Fewer people are being vaccinated against Covid
The DGS has formulated several hypotheses for this good start: patients’ recollection of the severity of the last epidemic or the fact that this year’s official messages could better differentiate between influenza- and Covid-related issues.
Health authorities have been trying for years, without success, to convince the French public to receive vaccinations against both diseases at once. However, systematic anti-Covid vaccination is still far below vaccination against flu.
This year, once again, the gap was significant at the start of the campaign: about 1.7 million doses of vaccine against Covid-19 have been administered in the city, according to the DGS.
For both diseases, the target is everyone over 65 years of age, but vulnerable groups also include pregnant women and some patients with chronic diseases.
