For the second year in a row, people at risk will be able to be vaccinated against influenza and Covid-19 simultaneously.
One visit, two vaccinations. For the second year in a row, people at risk can be vaccinated simultaneously against Covid-19 and the flu, during the vaccination campaign which begins Tuesday October 15. “The challenge is to make this double campaign a new annual reflex”explains Sarah Sauneron, deputy director general of health. Public concerned, methods, vaccines used… Franceinfo answers five questions concerning this new vaccination campaign.
1 Who is affected by the vaccination campaign?
All people likely to develop a serious form of influenza and Covid-19 are invited to be vaccinated against these two diseases. This mainly concerns, as detailed on the health insurance website, people aged 65 and over, pregnant women, people with comorbidities (such as high blood pressure, certain chronic illnesses, diabetes, obesity or cancer) and immunocompromised people. For Sars-CoV-2, patients suffering from dementia and Down syndrome are also affected.
The health authorities also encourage residents in nursing homes and long-term care units, those living in close proximity to or in regular contact with immunocompromised or vulnerable people, as well as caregivers and people working in the medico-social sector to receive their doses of vaccine against Covid-19 and flu. Professionals exposed to swine and avian influenza viruses are invited to receive a dose of vaccine in order to prevent the transmission of human influenza viruses to animals. Finally, all people who would like to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and who do not fall into the categories mentioned above can also claim their injections free of charge, underlines health insurance.
For the flu, specific rules apply for children aged 2 to 17. Those with comorbidities can receive a dose of vaccine, but a medical prescription is required to benefit from it free of charge. For others, the injection is only 65% covered by Social Security.
2 How does the vaccination take place?
The targeted audiences have already received a letter with a “vaccination voucher”, inviting them to come to a pharmacy to obtain their vaccine free of charge. This represents some “17,3 millions” letters sent, specifies Geneviève Motyka, medical advisor to the National Health Insurance Fund.
Doctors, nurses and midwives can give both injections to everyone over six months old. Different rules apply depending on whether it is a flu or Covid-19 vaccination. But remember that if you wish to have a child vaccinated for both illnesses by the same practitioner, it is better to choose a doctor or a midwife, as nurses can only inject a dose of flu vaccine in people over 11 years old. . Pharmacists and dental surgeons are only authorized to vaccinate adults, recalls the General Directorate of Health (DGS) in a document (PDF) sent to healthcare professionals on September 17.
As for the 2023-2024 vaccination campaign, injections against Covid-19 and against the flu can be administered on the same day, but not in the same place (this can be done on both arms for example). Health insurance specifies that if the two injections are not given on the same day, there is no specific time limit to respect between the two vaccinations.
3 What vaccines are used?
Following the recommendations of the High Authority for Health (HAS), the DGS offers, with regard to Covid-19, vaccines using messenger RNA technology. In this case, it is the Comirnaty JN.1 vaccine, developed by the Pfizer laboratory. This is a “effective vaccine against the Omicron variant which mainly circulates in the territory”underlines Sarah Sauneron.
On the flu side, three vaccines are available: Fluarix Tetra, developed by the GSK laboratory, Vaxigrip Tetra, produced by Sanofi, and Influvac Tetra from the Viatris Santé laboratory. They can be injected from the age of 6 months and be used indifferently, whatever the target, specifies health insurance. In total, “13.9 million doses of vaccines will be delivered”assures Sarah Sauneron, adding that “if the needs were to be greater, a pre-reservation system will be possible”.
4 Why is it recommended to get vaccinated?
For the moment, the circulation of the two viruses does not require particular vigilance (except for Reunion Island, which has been facing a flu epidemic since the end of September), according to the epidemic bulletin published Wednesday October 9 by Public Health France. But the authorities advise “to carry out vaccination before the active circulation of influenza viruses”because after vaccination, “the body actually needs two weeks to form the necessary antibodies”specifies the Ministry of Health.
Vaccination helps prevent serious forms of both diseases. In addition to its effects on the patient’s health, it also helps preserve the health system, in a context of chronic staff shortages (worse during vacation periods, particularly at the end of the year). During the last influenza epidemic, lasting from the last week of December 2023 to the end of February 2024, the number of consultations for influenza syndrome was estimated at 1,540,000 by Public Health France, in a study published on Tuesday. These flu-like illnesses caused 73,676 trips to the emergency room. Among these passages, 19%, or 14,025, led to hospitalization.
5 How can we explain the low vaccination coverage rate in France?
During the 2023/2024 season, only 54% of people aged over 65 were vaccinated against the flu. “Vaccination coverage for those over 65 fell last year. This is worrying, because this is the age group that is most hospitalized and most often found in intensive care.”regrets Caroline Semaille, Director General of Public Health France, who specifies that “the vast majority of patients who were admitted to intensive care were not vaccinated”. Concerning Covid-19, the vaccination coverage rate is even lower, since it stands at 30.2% over the same period.
How can we explain such disaffection? According to Caroline Semaille, this can be explained in particular by the distance from the target audiences, which “are not always easy to reach”and by a “post-Covid vaccination lassitude”. The health crisis of 2020-2021 also remains “the belief that vaccination does not work, even though the vaccines used are adapted to the strains of viruses circulating and present risks [d’effets indésirables] extremely weak”.