"WARNING: the flu virus is circulating VERY actively": Health insurance has sent text messages in recent days to some at-risk French people to encourage them to get vaccinated, as the epidemic affects almost the entire country and is causing concern due to its potential severity.
Parents of at-risk children received similar messages: "HEALTH INSURANCE: WARNING: the flu virus is circulating VERY actively, get your child vaccinated quickly to protect them and avoid complications."
"With the whole of France in the epidemic phase, SMS messages have been scheduled to be sent between December 10 and 12," the Cnam told AFP on Friday, noting that "SMS is a new feature for 2025 in the event of a flu epidemic" and is in addition to the mid-November reminder emails.
"The objective of the various reminders made by the Health Insurance is to avoid oversights and to remind people that there is still time to get vaccinated," according to the same source.
General practitioner consultations, emergency room visits, positive tests: the seasonal flu epidemic has accelerated in mainland France, where almost all regions are affected and where Corsica is expected to follow soon, according to Public Health France.
The dynamics are, so far, "comparable" to those of last year at the same time, the health agency observed, after a particularly severe 2024/2025 season, with more than 17,000 deaths and a number of babies hospitalized.
As the holidays approach, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist called on Thursday in a statement "for everyone to mobilize": "the flu is not inevitable: getting vaccinated means protecting yourself, but also protecting our most vulnerable loved ones," and "preserving our health system."
It takes about two weeks to develop antibodies after the injection.
Vaccination remains the best defense against severe forms of the flu, especially for the most vulnerable (those over 65, pregnant women, immunocompromised individuals, or those with chronic illnesses), health authorities emphasize. Protective measures (masks, ventilation, avoiding contact with vulnerable people) remain strongly recommended.
The vaccination campaign seems less sluggish than a year earlier, and the Ministry of Health announced at the end of November that it would release safety stocks, with some pharmacists already saying they were running out of doses.
The flu epidemic, earlier than in previous seasons, has so far been mainly caused by type A viruses (H1N1 and H3N2), and several specialists fear a serious epidemic, particularly under the effect of a sub-variant of H3N2 called "K".
The United Kingdom is facing an "unprecedented wave" of flu, the British public health service warned on Friday.
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