Unscheduled operations, emergency beds opened and caregivers called in as reinforcements. Faced with the winter flu epidemic affecting France, 87 hospitals have activated their “white plan” since the end of December, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday January 10. “We are in a situation that is quite exceptional”had assessed the director of the Committee for Monitoring and Anticipation of Health Risks (Covars), Brigitte Autran, on Thursday, on France Inter, emphasizing that “not every year is marked by blank plans linked to the flu”.
As of Tuesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) had identified at least twenty hospitals forced to take emergency measures in the face of the influx of patients. Since then, others have been added, such as the CHU of Reims (Marne) and that of Orléans (Loiret). The list could continue to grow, as the French Public Health agency reported on Wednesday an increasingly significant epidemic, marked by “a level of‘exceptionally high intensity in the hospital’. Franceinfo explains how we got to this situation.
Because the number of cases is large
France and Corsica were declared in a flu epidemic situation just before Christmas, a little earlier than in previous years. Since then, the virus has continued to gain ground. During the week from December 30 to January 5, patients diagnosed with influenza represented 5.2% of emergency room visits, a very high level, which had only been reached once in around fifteen years. (in winter 2022/2023, at the end of the Covid-19 crisis), according to Public Health France.
Nearly 4,000 flu patients had to be hospitalized in early January after going through the emergency room. A “strong increase” of the share of deaths with a mention of flu was also recorded (6%, compared to 3.9% in the last week of 2024).
“This year the flu is particularly aggressive, with many patients who usually could go home, but who we have to keep because they are in a serious situation”illustrated the head of emergency at the Georges-Pompidou hospital in Paris, Philippe Juvin, Thursday, on the Franceinfo channel. “We have double the number of flu hospitalizations compared to last year”he insisted.
“Looking at the figures, it’s not monstrous, but we are in an epidemic size which will probably be in the high range this season”virologist Bruno Lina estimated on Tuesday at AFP. Once crossed, the peak could be followed by a decline, then a new rebound, warned Gilles Pialoux, chead of the infectious diseases department at Tenon hospital in ParisWednesday, on franceinfo: “We are always wary of these episodes of seasonal flu that start early, because sometimes they come in two waves.”
Because the vaccination rate remains low
According to a count dated Tuesday consulted by franceinfo, 10.3 million people have been vaccinated against the flu since this fall among the 17.3 million vulnerable residents, caregivers or relatives at risk identified by the Ministry of Health . “There is still almost a month of campaign left and we have already exceeded last winter’s total”greets the president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France, Philippe Besset. However, the vaccination rate remains “very weak”he believes.
According to the pharmacist, this half-hearted mobilization testifies to“a rejection of vaccination by part of the population”. During the 2023/2024 campaign, the coverage rate for only people at risk of severe flu was 47.1%, far from the stated objective of 75%, recalls the Ministry of Health.
“If we are to believe the emergency doctors, we find almost only unvaccinated people among the patients hospitalized for the flu.”
-Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of Franceat franceinfo
Immunologist Brigitte Autran is also advancing the path of“a very low vaccination rate this year” to explain embolism in the emergency room. “There is a real national responsibility for everyone to ensure that they protect themselves in order to protect hospitals and not force them to make a blank plan”she says, deploring “a form of vaccination fatigue” despite the “thousands of deaths” due to the flu every year. A reluctance that affects caregivers themselves: “In public hospitals, we must be around 18% vaccinated”protests infectious disease specialist Gilles Pialoux.
Is there still time to get vaccinated? “For the vaccination to be effective, you must wait two weeks. If we vaccinate now, we will only be protected in the last part of the epidemic, warns Bruno Lina. Vaccination must especially be done before the epidemic.” On the other hand, there is always time to apply barrier gestures, by washing your hands, ventilating the rooms and wearing a mask in the event of symptoms. Faced with a relaxation of behavior, wearing a mask has again become compulsory in several hospital centers (Abbeville, Calais, Dijon, Le Havre, Libourne, Lisieux, etc.).
Because the emergencies were already under tension
The new Minister responsible for Health, Yannick Neuder, recognized on Tuesday that the multiplication of white plans “translated[sai]t clearly the state of tension in which our health system finds itself”. “Hospitals are already bursting at the seams, so the slightest drop of water breaks the camel’s back”illustrated Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor at Hôtel-Dieu and medical columnist, Thursday, on franceinfo. He deplored a “lack of staff”of the “bed closures” et “the bottleneck” what have become of emergencies?
These services, increasingly crowded with stretchers, accommodate serious cases, but also patients who have not found an appointment in town and patients waiting for places in other departments or follow-up establishments.
“We have a general traffic jam in the system.”
Philippe Juvin, head of emergency at the Georges-Pompidou hospital in Parisat franceinfo
While the virus causing bronchiolitis and Covid-19 are contained this winter, the flu epidemic alone could have been better absorbed, according to some caregivers. “The majority problem is the lack of hospital beds, as always”insists the spokesperson for the Samu-Urgences de France union, Agnès Ricard-Hibon. Faced with an aging population, increasingly vulnerable to the flu, she calls for “anticipate” ces “predictable winter crises”. “We must reserve a number of beds in the departments for emergency activity”a solution “known” which is slow to take place, she regrets. Like his predecessors, the minister says he wants “promote everything that can produce care in the territory” pour “avoid systematic recourse to emergencies”.
