The state will give the green light to anti-flu vaccination by pharmacists. An experimental authorization for a period of 3 years which would only concern adults.
This is a first victory for pharmacists. The deputies authorized this Tuesday evening, on an experimental basis, these professionals to participate in vaccine campaigns against influenza for 3 years. Only adults can be vaccinated in pharmacies. Parliamentarians thus hope to improve vaccination coverage and support the demands of pharmacists.
This proposal adopted by the Social Affairs Committee as part of the examination of the Social Security draft budget is an amendment by the Socialist deputy Michèle Delaunay. It will have to be presented to the National Assembly again next week. If this is passed, a decree will then be published to set the conditions for the application of the experiment and the methods of training pharmacists.
For the deputies, allowing pharmacists to carry out the vaccination is a way to restore confidence in the French. The text points to “the insufficiency of vaccination coverage in France among adolescents and adults”, partly linked to “mistrust” towards these products, and which leads to “the spread of infectious diseases”.
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A proposal that divides
Indeed, the flu shot is one of the best examples of this reluctance. Since the H1N1 flu epidemic in 2009, vaccination coverage has steadily declined from 58% in 2008-2009 to 48% in 2015-2016. Among seniors over 65 – the age group most at risk – the drop in vaccination has reached more than 14 points since 2009. However, “if the vaccination coverage was 75% (target set by the WHO ) 3,000 deaths would be avoided in people aged 65 and over, ”emphasizes Michèle Delaunay.
Raising awareness and encouraging people at risk to be vaccinated (seniors, pregnant women, chronically ill) is therefore a major issue for the country’s health authorities. Pharmacists are already contributing to this promotion, but today they want to play a more important role. An idea that displeases general practitioners, even though 60% of French people say they are in favor. To reassure practitioners, the amendment ensures that vaccination by pharmacists will be “in addition to other authorized health professionals, and not to their detriment”.
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