Influenza is a respiratory infection that can lead to serious complications in people at risk, such as pneumonia or the aggravation of an already existing chronic disease (diabetes, heart or respiratory failure, etc.). Influenza prevention is a major issue in the context of co-circulation with Covid-19.
Everyone must adopt “barrier gestures”, a set of simple prevention measures: regular hand washing, limiting contact for patients, wearing a mask, etc.
Vaccination against influenza and against Covid-19 can save lives, helping to fight the virus and reducing the risk of complications. As winter approaches, it is also an essential step for vulnerable populations to take, to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Barrier gestures, once combined with the vaccination of target populations, constitute a protective shield that limits the spread of viruses and helps save lives.
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Launch of the seasonal flu vaccination campaign on October 18, 2022
Consult the press kit “Vaccination against influenza 2022-2023. A reflex to be reinforced with
most vulnerable people”
Find out more about the Health Insurance information campaignThe flu has not gone away. This highly contagious acute respiratory infection remains just as unpredictable and dangerous for people at risk. : those aged 65 and over, those with a chronic illness or severe obesity, or even pregnant women. For these populations, vaccination is an effective weapon to protect against the influenza virus, in addition to barrier gestures in the fight against all respiratory viruses.
While an upsurge in influenza viruses could be observed this winter, and Sars-Cov2 continues to circulate, the major importance of high influenza and anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination coverage in people at risk.
Faced with the need to remind people at risk of their vulnerability to influenza and the protection conferred by vaccination, the Health Insurance, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Public Health France and the MSA, is relaunching an information and awareness campaign.
“From the age of 65, when you have a chronic illness or when you are pregnant, the body defends itself less well against viruses. ALSO against the flu, vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the risk of complications. Get vaccinated.”
To protect vulnerable people, the Ministry of Health and Prevention is keen to give them priority access to flu vaccines at the start of the vaccination campaign: the delivery and administration of the flu vaccine are reserved for them during the first 4 weeks of the campaign, i.e. from October 18 to November 15, 2022.
Adopt barrier gestures
The flu virus is mainly transmitted by:
the projection of virus-laden droplets emitted during coughs or sneezes from infected people
through hands and objects contaminated by droplets emitted by an infected person.
To avoid infection by the influenza virus, it is necessary to put in place a series of measures: the first of these is to adopt barrier gestures to limit the transmission of the virus.
The barrier gestures are the same as those that protect against Covid-19 and other winter viruses (rhinovirus, bronchiolitis virus, gastroenteritis, etc.), these are individual and/or collective gestures and behaviors to be applied as soon as one presents a sign of infection, in particular respiratory, to protect those around them:
wear a mask
greet each other without shaking hands or kissing
wash one’s hands
ventilate the rooms
cough and sneeze into his elbow
Learn more about the flu and how to prevent it
Vaccination against seasonal flu
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In addition to barrier gestures, vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect vulnerable people from the flu. In France, it prevents more than 2,000 deaths per year.
Vaccination against seasonal flu is strongly recommended for the most vulnerable people (people aged 65 and over, pregnant women, people with certain chronic diseases, obese people with a Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 40). The virus is more dangerous for them because it can lead to serious complications. The vaccination of caregivers and professionals in regular contact with people at risk of severe influenza (elderly people, infants, sick people, etc.) is also recommended. Vaccination against the flufamily environment of infants under 6 months particularly fragile, and immunocompromised people is recommended. |
Download the poster (A3): “The flu is coming but its vaccine is already there – Your pharmacist can vaccinate you”
Find out more about seasonal flu vaccination in practice on the ameli.fr website.
Consult the complete list of people for whom vaccination is recommended in the 2022 vaccination calendar.
To be doubly protected: get vaccinated against the flu and against Covid-19
The people most exposed to severe forms of seasonal flu are also those who are most at risk of developing a serious Covid-19 infection. For these people, it is essential to be protected by both vaccinations.
Vaccinations against influenza and against Covid-19 can be carried out at the same time. If the two vaccinations cannot take place at the same time, there is no waiting period to observe between the two. The important thing is to do both vaccinations in order to be protected against both diseases.
Find out more about covid vaccination on the website of the Ministry of Health and Prevention
Seasonal flu reference sites: