France began its winter 2024-2025 flu vaccination campaign on Tuesday (October 15), with over 17 million people eligible for a free vaccination.
This year the flu vaccination can be combined with a Covid-19 booster (these are free to all) and both injections can be given at the same appointment in different arms.
It comes after three successive years of falling vaccination rates against the flu in France, both for the 65+ category (all eligible for a free flu jab) and the general population.
Vaccination rates against the flu last year were more than 10% lower than recent highs: in 2008/2009, 58.7% of the general population were vaccinated and nearly 65% of over 65s.
In comparison, these figures were respectively 47.7% and 54% last year. In addition, only around 30% of over 65s received a booster vaccination against Covid-19, according to public health body Santé publique.
The largest recent high was in 2020/2021 (the first winter since the emergence of Covid 19), when more people were vaccinated to prevent a ‘double-threat’ from both illnesses. In that year, nearly 60% of over 65s were vaccinated against the flu, figures not reached for over a decade.
