For the second week in a row, the influenza epidemic threshold has been exceeded in France and no region is now spared by the virus. Since the start of the flu season, just over 1,300 people have gone to the emergency room for treatment and nearly a hundred have been hospitalized in intensive care. The viruses circulating this winter are in fact mostly type A (H3N2), a particularly formidable strain responsible for complicating factors in people at risk.
Of the serious cases identified, half were over 65 years of age, 9 out of 10 had a risk factor for complications and the majority of them were not vaccinated. This is why the General Directorate of Health, in agreement with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, has decided to extend the flu vaccination campaign until February 28.
Flu: why get vaccinated so late?
As we know, this year the flu vaccine is much less effective than expected because of a mutation in the virus. The one circulating at the moment does not correspond to the one which was used in the development of the vaccine and which is composed of strains of the B, A H1N1 and H3N2 viruses.
However, according to Professor Bruno Lina, professor of virology at the CHU de Lyon and responsible for the national influenza reference center, this in no way detracts from its interest. It is indeed important that the most vulnerable people get vaccinated because this reduces the risk of serious complications and even death.
It’s about :
– People over 65;
– Patients with certain chronic pathologies such as asthma, diabetes or heart failure;
– Obese people with a body mass index greater than 40;
– And pregnant women, who can obtain a care voucher allowing the withdrawal of the vaccine free of charge at the dispensary pharmacy, by consulting their attending physician, obstetrician gynecologist or their midwife. Pregnant women who catch the flu are more likely to develop pneumonia afterwards.
Flu: 117 direct deaths and 7,700 indirect deaths last year
Last year, when the virus was less virulent than this year, 543 people still had to be hospitalized with severe cases of influenza and 117 died. “This is only the visible part. It is important to underline the significant indirect mortality / morbidity linked to a complication or decompensation of another disease aggravated by influenza. The National Institute for Public Health Surveillance estimates that 7,700 the number of indirect deaths linked to this viral disease last winter, “says the Institut Pasteur de Lille.
And you, have you been vaccinated against the flu? Talk about it on the forum.
