Kick-off of the annual vaccination against flu, coupled with Covid – RMC

Flu & Covid Vaccination: Double Trouble or Double the Fun?

Ah, it’s that time of year again when we all gather around our local health center, take a number, and participate in the ritual that is flu vaccination season. But this year, there’s a twist! The health authorities in France are not just handing out flu shots like they’re samples at a supermarket; they’re rolling out a combination that sounds more like a dreadful cocktail: the flu and Covid booster jab!

The Double Shot—Because One Just Isn’t Enough

As of October 15, the French government is on a mission to create a new “annual reflex”—get your flu shot while simultaneously dodging Covid with a booster. Yes, it’s a “two-for-one” deal that no one asked for, but here we are! The health officials, including the ever-serious Deputy Director General of Health, Sarah Sauneron, are desperately trying to anchor this double vaccination mentality for those most at risk. And let’s be honest, at this point, if you’re not at risk, you’re probably living in a bubble, and that bubble is not air-tight!

More than 17 million French citizens are targeted for this vaccine extravaganza, primarily those over 65, people with chronic conditions, and yes, even pregnant women—you know, just in case that baby wants to come out immune and ready to face the world.

“Vaccination coverage for those over 65 has fallen compared to the previous season,” warns Caroline Semaille, Director General of Public Health. “It’s alarming because the patients hospitalized are those over 65.” Sounds like we have a problem here, folks!

Motivations Behind This Vaccination Blitz

Why the sudden urgency, you ask? In the words of our health authorities, it’s to protect the vulnerable and reduce the strain on our health system. Because who wouldn’t want to avoid a hospital visit in the middle of flu season? That’s about as appealing as bathing with piranhas!

But here’s the kicker: there’s been a “fairly well-documented post-Covid vaccine fatigue.” It’s like we all collectively decided that the minute we heard the word “booster”, we’d rather binge-watch Netflix than face another needle. And let’s not forget the hilarious misbelief that vaccines might not work—oh, where do we even begin with that logic?

Seniors and Caregivers: The Reluctant Vaccination Group

It’s not just about those living in luxury nursing homes either. Even healthcare professionals are less keen on the jab these days—a trend deemed “horrifying”. I mean, wouldn’t a doctor, of all people, want to be vaccinated? But no, turns out being “too busy” is the perfect excuse. Should we really trust someone who thinks ten minutes can lapse between a coffee break and the very real threat of being laid up in bed with the flu?

The Immunity Menu: What’s on Offer?

This year’s flu and Covid vaccines are the gastronomic equivalents of “what’s in the fridge”—Pfizer-BioNTech for Covid, with flu options from various manufacturers. It’s like a buffet; you just have to pick and choose what goes in your arm. However, if you plan to hedge your bets against the flu, you’d better hurry because your body needs at least two weeks to whip up a cocktail of antibodies before the flu viruses come knocking.

Brace Yourselves: We Don’t Really Know What’s Coming

Here’s where it gets exciting (and by exciting, I mean nerve-wracking): we don’t know how the flu and Covid will play out this season. Sure, last year was somewhat tamer in the wake of two years of Covid mayhem, but 14,000 hospitalizations and 1,860 deaths from the flu alone is still no laughing matter. And don’t think we have the full count—death records are notoriously tricky, just like trying to open a ketchup bottle in front of someone who’s starving!

So, folks, as the health authorities roll out their double shot of vaccines this flu season, remember: it’s not just about avoiding the needle—it’s about making sure you’re still standing come springtime. While I can’t promise that this combination will lead to world peace, I can assure you that being proactive about your health never hurt anyone (except maybe your pride when you admit to needle phobia). So line up, break out the hand sanitizer, and get those arms ready for action!

The start of vaccination against seasonal flu this Tuesday, October 15, possibly combined with a booster against Covid: the health authorities hope to encourage the reflex of this double vaccination, especially for people at risk.

Getting vaccinated against the flu and Covid at the same time: this is the “annual reflex” that the health authorities hope to create in France, especially for people at risk, still insufficiently protected, at the start of the vaccination season this Tuesday.

One of the major challenges is to “anchor the double flu-Covid vaccination” as “double protection for priority populations”, summarized Sarah Sauneron, Deputy Director General of Health, during a press conference on Monday. Doctors, nurses, midwives and even pharmacists can perform the two injections, which can be given in a row, without this being obligatory.

Raise the level of vaccination of seniors

More than 17.2 million French people are particularly invited to be vaccinated against these two viral pathologies which can, in certain cases, have fatal consequences. The categories targeted as a priority are at risk of developing serious forms: those over 65, residents of nursing homes, people of all ages suffering from certain chronic illnesses or severe obesity, pregnant women.

Vaccination is also recommended for caregivers and those around vulnerable people (seniors, infants, etc.). If the seasonal return of the flu is well known, Covid-19, the cause of several epidemic waves each year, has added a health risk to the autumn-winter period, where other respiratory viruses also circulate, such as that of influenza. origin of bronchiolitis.

Vaccination against influenza and Covid aims to “protect the most vulnerable, because it helps reduce serious forms and hospitalizations”, but also to “reduce the pressure on a heavily strained health system”, underlined the representative of the Ministry of Health.

Another stated objective: to raise the level of flu vaccination for seniors but also for caregivers, which is in decline. “Vaccination coverage for those over 65 has fallen” compared to the previous season, warned the Director General of Public Health France Caroline Semaille, judging that “it is alarming because the patients hospitalized and in intensive care are those over 65 “.

Countering “weariness” and “beliefs”

This decline was also evident for seniors living in nursing homes, where flu vaccination coverage was the “lowest measured in recent years” last season, noted Capucine Ulian, medical advisor to the general management of the Social cohesion. Also “a little alarming”: the decline in flu vaccination among health professionals, including doctors (traditionally more vaccinated than nurses and caregivers), according to Caroline Semaille.

Against Covid, the proportion of vaccinated seniors increased in one year to around 30% last season, but “remains low”, she pointed out. To explain the insufficient vaccination against flu and Covid, Sarah Sauneron mentioned a “fairly well-documented post-Covid vaccine fatigue and a belief that vaccination does not work, or not always”.

However, vaccines against Covid and flu are “well adapted to the strains of viruses circulating” this season and “the benefits greatly outweigh the risks”, with “especially pain at the injection site” as undesirable effects, assured Caroline Semaille.

For Covid, this year it will be a vaccine targeting the Omicron JN.1 variant, close to those dominant for several weeks. Initially, only the Pfizer-BioNTech serum will be available.

For the flu, three vaccines from different manufacturers, designed from the strains of the virus that are expected to circulate the most this season, can be used interchangeably. It is advisable to carry out vaccination before the active circulation of influenza viruses, because the body needs, once vaccinated, two weeks to form the necessary antibodies.

The impact of the flu and Covid over the coming months in France remains unknown. Last season, the flu returned to a pattern close to that before the Covid-19 pandemic, after two years heavily impacted by Covid. However, it caused 14,000 hospitalizations and more than 1,860 deaths, a figure probably lower than reality because it is based on incomplete death registers.