2023-12-05 10:01:00
the essentials Vaccination against seasonal flu is late in France and the Lot is not spared. A situation which can have consequences for vulnerable people.
The Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, sounded the alarm on the drop in the vaccination rate against seasonal flu in France. In fact, the delay is estimated at nearly 500,000 doses. This situation also concerns the Lot. “We are behind in vaccination, we vaccinate less than last year” confides Olivier Bories at the Saint-Géry pharmacy and president of the order of pharmacists of Lot. Vaccination against seasonal flu began on October 17 in France. “We must not forget that 2-3 years ago, the vaccination campaign ended on December 31, now we are extending it until January 31. This shows that everyone is adapting.” Vaccination mainly concerns people at risk of developing serious forms, such as people aged over 65, people suffering from chronic illnesses, pregnant women, people suffering from obesity, etc.
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“We are around 15, 20% less”
Flu vaccination is declining year after year. In 2022-2023, vaccination coverage was 51.5%, compared to 53% in 2021-2022, among people at risk targeted by vaccination in France. “We are around 15, 20% less than in previous years” analyzes Olivier Bories in his pharmacy. Difficult to explain this drop in vaccination, however the pharmacist puts forward a hypothesis: “People associate the flu with the cold and the weather got cold not long ago. I think there is a lag in the season, so people will perhaps get vaccinated a little later.” For Jean-Bernard Solignac, a retired doctor in Cahors and former member of the Lot order of doctors, misinformation has nothing to do with it: “With the Covid crisis and the dissemination of false information on social networks , it’s certain that people have taken an interest in these wacky things. They have a lot of fears and worries, it’s more than a shame.”
Occitanie is not in an alert zone for the moment, according to Public Health France. “The fact that we don’t talk too much about the flu because there is no epidemic also plays a role. Maybe we will have an epidemic within 15 days and people will be vaccinated at that moment”, hopes Olivier Bories.
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Consequences for vulnerable people
For Jean-Bernard Solignac: “The decline in vaccination risks causing deaths among susceptible people and the elderly. This could be avoided, with the vaccine which is ready”. The drop in the number of vaccinated people risks increasing the number of hospitalizations during the epidemic. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people die each year from the flu. “It is still early to draw conclusions, but indeed, the results are not great for the moment, let’s wait until December to see where we are” concludes Olivier Bories.
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