As the flu epidemic approaches in France, get vaccinated as soon as possible, advise the experts.
Every winter, two to six million people catch the flu in France and the virus causes 10,000 deaths on average. To reduce these sad figures, Social Security recently sent 13 million vouchers to vulnerable people (over 65, chronically ill, pregnant women) so that they cannt get vaccinated for free in pharmacies. Despite the success of the operation, six regions are already in pre-epidemic: Ile-de-France, PACA, Centre-Val de Loire, Brittany, Burgundy and Occitanie. According to specialists, the real epidemic should start this week or next, due to the return of children to schools. While at the end of December, the Pasteur Institute assured that it was too late to be vaccinated, today, Bruno Lina, head of the national reference center for influenza in Lyon, assures that there is still time. Even if, we “have to go very quickly”, he pressed this Monday, January 6 at microphone from Europe-1.
“At the end of the day, it still takes 15 days or even three weeks for the vaccine to start having a protective effect. Of the few serious cases of influenza that have been observed, four-fifths have been observed in people who should have been vaccinated. So now is the time to do it,” he insists.
On December 31, in an interview granted at Franceinfo, Vincent Enouf, deputy director of the National Influenza Reference Center at the Pasteur Institute, however assured that it was too late to be vaccinated. From now on, it is above all necessary “to promote barrier measures with the right gestures”, he declared, recommending to “blow your nose, wash your hands frequently, avoid being in contact with other people if you feel sick, (. ..) ventilate his home frequently”. “It’s very useful, even if it’s cold in order to recycle the air. If you cough, you can contaminate your neighbor up to 6 meters away.”
Get vaccinated every year
“The two viruses circulating are the H3N2 and H1N1 viruses. We have known since 2009 that the H1N1 virus does not just kill the elderly, it also kills young workers. You have to be very careful (…) H3N2 causes large-scale epidemics, but also H1N1.”
As the virus is constantly evolving, it is recommended to be vaccinated every year in the fall. In adults, only one injection is needed. This year, the vaccine is all the more recommended as it would be more effective than in previous years.
“On H1N1, the vaccine is effective up to 70%. On the H3N2, we are more measured. We currently have less data. It would protect up to 40% maximum. A person who is vaccinated may respond less well to the vaccine, so be vaccinated and not be fully protected. Being vaccinated prevents you from becoming a severe case, from being hospitalized. This softens the consequences”, according to Vincent Enouf.
500,000 people already vaccinated against the flu in pharmacies
To facilitate the process, all pharmacists can now vaccinate. So far, 75% of them have started. In mid-December, the community pharmacists’ union announced that it had already vaccinated 500,000 people, compared to 1.5 million for doctors.
If you are in good health, you can of course get vaccinated, but this will not be covered by health insurance. You can get it at a pharmacy for about ten euros and then you will have to get vaccinated by a doctor or a nurse. The act of vaccination will therefore have to be paid for in addition.
.
