Measles, meningococcal, flu… vaccination of French people will increase in 2023, but still needs to be improved

Among adolescents, the proportion of people vaccinated against meningococcus C increased sharply in 2023, to 48% compared to 43.8% in 2022. Gorica Poturak/Getty Images

The level of vaccination of the French has progressed in 2023 but "must further improve" against certain infections, particularly 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&amp ;quot;.

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, l' one of those responsible for gastroenteritis, around 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%.

Insufficient vaccination coverage among people at risk

In view of "the increase in preventable diseases such as measles" and the arrival of millions of foreign visitors during the Olympic Games, "it is particularly necessary (…) to strengthen vaccination catch-up for all children, adolescents and young adults born after 1980 who would not have received a complete two-dose regimen", argues the agency.

Among adolescents, the proportion of people vaccinated against meningococcus C increased significantly 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& quot;.

A little more than half of those aged 65 and over (54%) were vaccinated against the flu in the 2023-2024 season, or 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 ".