Influenza: launch of vaccination campaign available to children

The annual flu vaccination campaign opens in France on Tuesday. New compared to previous years is the opening to all children over 2 years of age. “Seasonal influenza vaccinations are available from October 17, 2023 to January 31, 2024,” says Health Insurance. “The campaign will be carried out in conjunction with the Covid-19 vaccination campaign.”

It was originally planned that both campaigns would begin simultaneously. But the fight against Covid-19 was postponed by two weeks and began on October 2 due to the continuation of the epidemic, which flared up again at the height of the summer, during the start of the school year in September.

The fact that children over 2 years of age and adolescents are now eligible is recommended by the Higher Health Authority (HAS). The choice is motivated by the fight against the spread of the disease. However, the cost of the vaccine will only be reimbursed by two-thirds to children, unlike other groups it would normally target, such as everyone over 65, for whom it is free.

Youth hit unusually last year

Pregnant women, people with certain chronic health conditions (including children 6 months of age and older), and people with massive obesity (with a body mass index of more than 40) may also benefit from the vaccine.

The challenge for health authorities is to avoid a season as challenging as the turning point of 2022-23, when multiple epidemics (influenza, Covid-19 and, in infants, bronchiolitis) converged and overwhelmed hospitals already in crisis.

Last winter’s influenza epidemic was “noticeably severe,” the French Public Health Agency (SPF) recalls. In 2022-2023, there were 14 thousand hospitalizations and 1.5 thousand deaths. While people over 65 have been hit hardest (almost 90% of deaths), younger age groups have been affected to an unusual extent. The outbreak had other features as well. It started early, in November, and lasted for a very long time, with a second wave resuming in early 2023.

In its latest bulletin, published online last week, the SPF had yet to report the alarming flu situation in France. With the exception of Reunion, no region of France was in the epidemic phase. The pre-epidemic phase also did not affect any region. The disease affected only 0.2% of emergency department visits.