Europe1 .fr , with AFP // PEAKSTOCK / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRAR / LDA / Science Photo Library via AFP 18:22 pm, December 13, 2023

As the virus spreads throughout France in the run-up to Christmas, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau wants better protection for vulnerable people. To date, more than 10 million people have received immunity to seasonal influenza.

The seasonal flu epidemic has now spread to the French metropolis where Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) is the first region affected, health authorities announced on Wednesday, arguing instead that cases of bronchiolitis may have passed a peak and are now declining. "We really invite caution," said Isabelle Parent, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency France.

"Be careful" with vulnerable people

"It must be remembered that going to visit elderly people during the holidays really requires to be careful," she insisted, at a press conference organized by Public Health France for the publication of weekly figures on the main acute respiratory infections. Last week, which ended on 10 December, was marked by the arrival of the flu epidemic in mainland France. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region is the first to be affected, but others are expected to follow as the majority, 8 out of 13, are already in the pre-epidemic phase. In the French Overseas Territories, Mayotte remains affected by the epidemic.

In this context, the health authorities have also expressed concern about the lack of respect for barrier gestures. According to a survey by Public Health France conducted in September, just over one in two French people consider it necessary to wear a mask if they have symptoms such as a cough or fever. "In France, we have not yet appropriated this barrier gesture which is essential" and remains associated in minds with Covid-19 alone, regretted Caroline Semaille, director general of Public Health France.

10 million vaccinated against influenza

Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau on Wednesday called for "a rebound in vaccination" against the flu, to "have a good holiday" and so that "hospitals are not overwhelmed this winter". "We need a rebound in vaccination. We've crossed the 10 million mark on the flu, we've crossed the 5 million mark on Covid. We're still ahead of last year's Covid figures, we need to catch up a little bit on the flu. And this is the right time to do so," he said during a visit to a pharmacy in the <>th arrondissement of Paris with Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, Minister Delegate for Health Professions.

Asked about a possible frustration of the French at the idea of being revaccinated, the minister judged that "there may be an effect of trivialization, because we have learned to live with the flu and Covid. But we all have people around us who catch Covid, and for whom it's hard, severe." "And I'm thinking especially of those who are going to see their parents and grandparents at Christmas: we would all be more reassured if all these little people around the tree were vaccinated," said the Minister of Health and Prevention. And to get vaccinated, "it's super easy: all pharmacies, nurses, doctors can do it, the doses are there," he insisted.