Flu: all you need to know about the launch of the vaccination campaign – BFMTV

The flu vaccination campaign has already started Monday in nursing homes but extends to the rest of the population at risk from this Friday, while the Covid-19 epidemic is still present.

The flu vaccination campaign in France has been brought forward by four days and is launched this Friday, in a particularly uncertain context because still marked by the Covid-19 epidemic. The first doses were however able to be injected on Monday in nursing homes.

“Because everything is ready for the flu vaccination campaign, we are moving forward with its launch”, Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced on Twitter on Monday evening.

After a virtual absence of an influenza epidemic last winter, due in particular to barrier gestures, the lifting of restrictions “and the poor application of barrier measures will once again allow the circulation of the flu virus in the months to come. “, alerted the Scientific Council in early October. And “the intensity of the influenza epidemic will depend mainly on the level of influenza vaccination.”

· Who can get vaccinated?

The flu is a respiratory infection “which can cause serious complications in people at risk, such as pneumonia or the worsening of an already existing chronic disease”, explains the Ministry of Health. It usually affects 2 to 8 million people each year “with an excess of mortality attributable to influenza of 10,000 to 15,000 deaths, mainly in fragile subjects”, underlines the Institut Pasteur.

In this sense, it is the people most at risk of the virus who are given priority for vaccination: those aged 65 and over, under 65 suffering from certain chronic diseases, pregnant women, people suffering from obesity, but also “the entourage of infants under 6 months at risk of serious complications from influenza and immunocompromised people”, details the Health Insurance website.

Health professionals and professionals from medico-social establishments in contact with patients at risk can also be vaccinated, “because they can help to spread the infection” as well as home help for individuals “vulnerable employers”.

In all, this vaccination concerns 18 million French people, who are also eligible for a booster dose of vaccine against Covid-19. The government’s goal is to vaccinate 75%, which has never been achieved so far. During the 2019-2020 epidemic, vaccination coverage was 47.8%, last winter it was over 55%, according to data from Public Health France.

· Which vaccines?

This year, three influenza vaccines will be available to the public: the Vaxigrip Tetra, the Influvac Tetra and the Efluelda. These are inactivated vaccines composed of 4 virus strains.

The Elfuelda vaccine “has a recommendation only for the population aged 65 and over,” explains Marie-Cécile Levant on BFMTV, influenza medical manager for Sanofi Pasteur France. “It contains a higher dose of antigen to allow seniors to respond better, to stimulate their immune system a little more to have better efficiency vis-à-vis influenza and its complications”.

The Minister of Health promised 10 million doses at the opening of the campaign, against 4 million last year.

· Where to get vaccinated?

If you are part of the priority public for influenza vaccination, “you will receive from your fund an invitation and a voucher to collect the vaccine free of charge from the pharmacist on presentation of the voucher, and vaccinate by the professional of your choice “, explains the Public Service website.

If you have not received a message but you are part of the public eligible for vaccination, it is necessary to speak to a health professional who can issue you a care voucher.

Doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists can then vaccinate you. “The easiest way for everyone is to go to their health professional, whoever they are, to say ‘I want both vaccines'”, explained the Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon on Thursday at the meeting. ‘a press point.

· What about the Covid-19 vaccine?

On this subject, there are changes. It was initially a question of being able to either do both vaccines (influenza and Covid-19 booster) at the same time, or 15 days later. But now, “there is no minimum time to respect between a flu vaccination and a Covid-19 vaccination”, writes the Health Insurance. It is also requested, when the two doses are injected at the same time, to make one in each arm.

“This is something that has been validated by the High Authority for Health, we have a certain number of returns which say that there is no conflict between these two vaccines, on the contrary perhaps even that the we save time “by doing both at the same time, says virologist Bruno Lina on BFMTV. For him, “having a vaccination course that combines both the vaccine booster for the coronavirus and the flu vaccination is an opportunity that must be seized”.

· Why get the flu shot?

The vaccine is, to date, the only known treatment for influenza. “Apart from hygiene measures, annual influenza vaccination remains the most effective means of protecting yourself. It makes it possible to reduce serious forms”, explains the Institut Pasteur.

In the current context of the Covid-19 epidemic, it is also a question, with this vaccination, of avoiding an overload of hospitals. The incidence rate for this coronavirus is currently increasing, raising fears of the arrival of a new wave this winter. However, “a flu epidemic concomitant with the Covid-19 epidemic could increase the pressure on the health system”, writes the scientific council.

Especially since given the few cases recorded last year, few people have been immunized, and doctors expect more flu patients this winter.

According to the latest bulletin from Public Health France, so far, only “sporadic cases of influenza” have been detected. Only the department of Mayotte is in the pre-epidemic phase. The continuation of the epidemic will depend on the effectiveness of the vaccine – which is difficult to know for the moment – as well as the number of people who choose to do so, but also on the respect of the barrier gestures, which made it possible, last year, to avoid the epidemic.