Overview
- Pharmacies have sold more than 8.3 million flu vaccine doses since October 14, about 22% higher than the same point in 2024 and equal to roughly 43.7% of the 19 million people targeted.
- Santé publique France lists Île‑de‑France, Normandie and Nouvelle‑Aquitaine in a pre‑epidemic phase, with Mayotte already in an epidemic, as influenza A activity increases, particularly among children.
- The ECDC says flu cases are appearing three to four weeks earlier than recent seasons across Europe and urges eligible people to get vaccinated without delay.
- Scientists are monitoring an H3N2 “sub‑clade K” that could raise transmissibility and allow partial immune escape, though vaccination remains the best defense against severe illness.
- The Health Ministry calls the early uptake encouraging but stresses it is too soon to judge the campaign’s success; more than half of early vaccinations were administered by pharmacists, while bronchiolitis is expanding and COVID‑19 indicators are declining.