Covid and flu vaccination campaign starts today in France - who is invited?

Flu vaccinations for this winter and Covid-19 booster shots are now available in France, with more than 17 million people being invited to take the flu jab. 

Assurance Maladie is recommending that the following groups get vaccinated and have posted out a free flu jab voucher to them for this:

• People aged 65 and over 

• Pregnant women

• Immunocompromised people 

• Severely obese people

• Those with a chronic disease diagnosed more than six months ago (cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal and hepatic diseases, diabetes, cancer, etc)

• Those who work with vulnerable people in the categories above, such as nurses, care home workers, etc 

They should have received a letter with their voucher informing them about the free vaccine, if they are signed up to the French healthcare system.

Children aged 2 - 17 are also recommended to get the flu jab.

Anyone outside of these groups can also get a flu vaccination if they so wish but must pay for it.

The Health Ministry is looking to avoid another winter surge of hospitalisations – in previous years, hospitals have had to deal with a ‘triple threat’ of flu, Covid, and bronchitis, which left some areas oversaturated with patients.

Read more: Covid-19 hospitalisation cases on rise in France 

Are the vaccines free? 

Covid jabs are available to all, free of charge, regardless of their healthcare status. You simply have to make an appointment.

You can book an appointment to be vaccinated either for flu or with the anti-Covid booster - or both as they can be given at the same time, in different arms – at your local pharmacy or via your GP. 

You can also get vaccinated at a hospital or via an appointment with a midwife in some cases. 

The flu vaccine is only free for the vulnerable groups mentioned above, who received a voucher for the jab. 

Otherwise, you must pay, with both the vaccine itself and the appointment to have it injected being charged separately.

Adults (18+) have to pay full price for both the flu vaccine and the appointment.

The vaccine can be purchased in a pharmacy, without a prescription, then injected by a doctor, nurse or pharmacist after you make an appointment (a nurse or pharmacist cannot perform the injection for children aged under 11).

It costs between €6 and €10.

If you belong to one of the vulnerable groups but did not receive a flu voucher — often the case for obese people, pregnant women, and those who come into frequent contact with a person susceptible to the flu at home - a doctor may be able to prescribe you a flu vaccine for free, but you may still need to pay to have it injected.

Children aged 2 - 17 are fully reimbursed for the cost of the jab if they have a co-morbidity and a doctor's note recommending they receive it. 

The cost of the jab (purchasing the vaccine and appointment) for children without any co-morbidities is reimbursed at 65%. 

If you must pay to get vaccinated and do so via a doctor, you pay a standard consultation fee (currently €26.50, to rise to €30 in December). 

To get vaccinated by a pharmacist, it costs €7.50.

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