Vaccination in France has progressed in 2023, rejoices Public Health France

The level of vaccination of the French progressed in 2023 but “must still improve” against certain infections, notably those on the rise such as measles, according to a report published by Public Health France on Monday, the start of European Vaccination Week. In infants, the health agency notes “significant increases in vaccination coverage for newly recommended vaccinations”.

Against meningococcus B, nearly 75% of infants born in 2023 received at least one dose at eight months, compared to nearly 49% of babies in 2022. Against rotavirus, one of the causes of gastroenteritis, approximately a third of infants born in 2023 - the first cohort for which vaccination is recommended - received at least one dose at 8 months, specifies SpF.

For compulsory infant vaccinations, coverage is generally high, but progress is insufficient against measles, still below the objective of 95%. In view of “the resurgence of preventable diseases such as measles” and the arrival of millions of foreign visitors during the Olympic Games, “it is particularly necessary (...) to strengthen the vaccination catch-up of all children, adolescents and young people adults born after 1980 who have not received a complete two-dose schedule,” argues the agency. Among adolescents, the proportion of people vaccinated against meningococcus C increased sharply in 2023, to 48% compared to 43.8% in 2022.

Among adults, vaccination coverage against influenza and Covid-19 “remains insufficient among people at risk”. A little more than half of those aged 65 and over (54%) were vaccinated against the flu in the 2023-2024 season, i.e. 2.2 points less than a year earlier, and a little more than a quarter ( 25.4%) of those under 65 at risk of serious illness, or 6.2 points less. Against Covid, only a third of those aged 65 and over have been vaccinated. This 2023 report does not include vaccination data against human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, which will be added “soon”.

Another lesson: support for vaccination has “stabilized” in mainland France “at a high level”: more than 8 out of 10 people are in favor of vaccination in general, according to Public Health France. This proportion (83.7%) appears “generally stable” compared to 2022 and 2021 (84.6% and 82.5% respectively) and exceeds pre-Covid, between 2010 and 2019, according to the 2023 edition of the Health Barometer, survey system with representative samples. But strong socio-economic disparities remain.

If the proportion of people very favorable to vaccination (34.7%) has increased compared to 2022 and returned to the levels of 2020-2021, “vaccination adherence remains lower among people with the highest diplomas or income. weak,” notes SpF. And, for the first time since the Covid pandemic, this support tends to decrease among older people. Distrust regarding certain vaccinations mainly affects Covid (29% of 18-75 year olds in mainland France are against it), ahead of flu (6%), hepatitis B (4%), HPV (3%).