Paris (AFP)
The health minister said on Monday evening that 30% more doses of the seasonal flu vaccine had been ordered and that the vaccination would begin as usual in mid-October, according to a government source, as some demand that it intervene earlier.
The objective is to avoid a conjunction of the Covid-19 epidemic with that of the seasonal flu which would lead to saturation of intensive care services, explained Minister Olivier Véran during a meeting of leaders of political parties led by Prime Minister Jean Castex.
Several voices were raised for a mass vaccination against the flu in the context of the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic in France, the National Academy of Medicine even calling for "to make the flu vaccination compulsory for the whole nursing staff ".
Seventy-five members of the majority have launched this weekend a call to be vaccinated "massively" against the flu, a "citizen act" to avoid seeing this disease add to the Covid-19 pandemic in a " epidemic cohabitation ".
The forum also demands that the flu vaccine, reimbursed for people at risk and those over 65, is this year covered for all by mutuals.
Global flu vaccine makers have produced a record number of doses for the 2020-2021 season, as authorities hope to relieve hospitals sick with flu as a rebound in the Covid-19 pandemic is expected.
© 2020 AFP