Senators on Sunday approved by a show of hands the mandatory flu vaccination of self-employed healthcare workers, which had been rejected by members of parliament during the first reading of the Social Security budget for 2026.
An article in the draft social security financing bill provides in its initial version that "subject to a recommendation" from the High Authority for Health (HAS), vaccination against influenza should be mandatory for people residing in nursing homes "during the epidemic period".
The same obligation, subject to a recommendation from the HAS, is planned for "healthcare professionals practicing, on a self-employed basis, a profession listed in a decree in the Council of State".
This decree should specify the "working conditions" of healthcare workers and "exposure to risks of contamination", particularly for the people they are responsible for.
The article was rejected in the National Assembly, with the RN-UDR alliance and La France Insoumise voting against it. The RN had defended "vaccine freedom," while LFI had expressed concern about the fate of residents who refused.
The senators, on the contrary, approved it, but not before adopting an amendment from the general rapporteur Corinne Imbert (LR) removing the vaccination obligation for residents of nursing homes, against the government's advice.
Stressing that the resident coverage rate is already high (83%), Ms. Imbert felt that the obligation posed "sensitive ethical questions for residents, particularly that of consent to care, which is all the more complex to grasp for people who may suffer from cognitive disorders."
She also argued that "no concrete consequences (...) could be drawn from a refusal of vaccination," because "one cannot imagine (...) an expulsion of vulnerable people from their accommodation facilities because they refuse to be vaccinated."
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist issued an unfavorable opinion, stressing that the rate of 83% could mask significant disparities between establishments.
The HAS is expected to issue a recommendation in the spring on mandatory flu vaccination in 2026 for healthcare professionals working in hospital and medico-social facilities.
The flu epidemic caused 17,000 deaths in 2024, an outbreak that had a strong impact on hospitals and revived the sensitive issue of such an obligation, while only "211% of healthcare workers are vaccinated against the flu", according to Ms. Rist.
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