From October onwards, French pharmacies will offer flu vaccines
With the aim of increasing general vaccine coverage, this experiment has proven successful, ensuring that nearly one million French people are now vaccinated. From October 2019 onwards, pharmacists will thus be authorised to administer the flu vaccine.
Who is the flu vaccine for?
The influenza virus affects between 2 and 6 million French people every year. In some cases, it can be highly dangerous, even deadly. These cases most often concern people at high risk, such as the over 65s, pregnant women, those with certain health conditions (cystic fibrosis, Type 1 or 2 diabetes, serious heart problems, etc.), and those classed as obese.
What do doctors think?
France’s GPs are not particularly in favour of this initiative, and a petition launched by the "médecins en colère" (angry doctors) against pharmacy vaccinations has already collected 7,000 signatures. They believe it represents "underhand mercenary competition" for the livelihoods of nurses and GPs. They also express concern about the lack of both pharmacist experience and follow-up for these vaccinations., ils mettent en avant le manque d’expérience des pharmaciens et le manque de suivi de la vaccination.