Numerous “white plans” are currently being implemented in hospitals in France, under pressure in particular due to the winter flu epidemic. Despite the danger of the flu for older people, only 48.2% of people over 65 in the EU.
Among the Member States, it is in Denmark that the vaccination rate is the highest for this population, according to 2022 data collected by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat.
France in 11th place in Europe
In this Scandinavian country, 78% of people aged 65 and over have been vaccinated, followed by Portugal (75.8%) and Ireland (75.4%). On the other hand, Slovakia (5.6%), Poland (8.6%) and Bulgaria (10.4%) had the lowest rates, by far.
Germany, for its part, is below the European average with 43.3%. More generally, it is in the central and eastern part of the European Union that vaccination is lowest. A propensity which should not change with the possible accession of Serbia (14%), Montenegro (13.5) or North Macedonia (6.5%). If France is at the level of vaccination of people over 65 years above the European average with 56.8%, it is however only in 11th place.
More generally, flu vaccination rates among older people vary regularly. The highest rate was recorded in 2009 (54.6%) in the EU, with a rate of 64.8% in France at the time.
According to Public Health France, vaccination coverage among adults against influenza and Covid-19 remains insufficient among people at risk. “Influenza vaccination coverage is estimated at 54% among those aged 65 and over during the 2023-2024 season. »
We count flu deaths differently in Europe
On the other hand, if the vaccination rate seems consistent, the figures for the number of deaths presented by Eurostat should be taken with a pinch of salt. In fact, countries do not collect the causes of death in the same way. During the Covid-19 period, some MEPs were moved by this, like centrist elected official Pascal Canfin at the European Center for Disease Control and Protection (ECDC).
Thus, six EU member states (Estonia, Ireland, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg) have not announced any deaths linked to influenza in 2021. However, each year in France, there are on average between 9,000 and 10,000 deaths caused by the flu.
