European Immunization Week: April 23–29, 2017
European Immunization Week is a key opportunity for outreach and initiatives to promote vaccination. To mark the occasion, Santé publique France is releasing vaccination coverage data for France and launching vaccination-info-service.fr, the go-to website for the general public offering reliable information on vaccination.
How is Vaccination Week organized?
European Immunization Week, created at the initiative of the World Health Organization, mobilizes more than 200 countries each year. In France, the event is coordinated at the national level by the Ministry of Health and Santé publique France, and implemented regionally by the Regional Health Agencies. Numerous national and regional partners are involved in promoting this major event and help raise its profile by organizing exhibitions, information sessions, conferences, games, activities, free vaccination sessions, open houses, professional training sessions, and more.
75% of people aged 15–75 say they support vaccination
According to data from the 2016 Health Barometer* conducted by Santé publique France, support for vaccination among the French public remains strong, with 75% of people aged 15–75 stating they are in favor of vaccination. The French recognize the effectiveness of vaccination; however, vaccines against seasonal flu (15%), hepatitis B (13%), and, to a lesser extent, human papillomavirus (6%) still face some resistance.
Vaccination Coverage Data for Children and Adolescents
Measured annually, vaccination coverage allows for the assessment of the proportion of vaccinated individuals in a population at a given time. According to the latest estimates produced by Santé publique France, vaccination coverage rates are:
For 2-year-olds:
high and meeting public health targets for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b infections (97%), or close to these targets for pneumococcal disease (91%);
insufficient but increasing for meningococcal C (71%), hepatitis B (88%), and MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) "2 doses" (79%);
insufficient and stable for MMR "1 dose" (90%).
Summary table of vaccination coverage among 2-year-olds
Among adolescents: vaccination coverage is very low for human papillomavirus (HPV) (24.4% for "1 dose" at age 15) and for meningococcal C (36% among 10- to 14-year-olds, 25% among 15- to 19-year-olds).
National estimates are broken down by department for all childhood vaccines, as well as for meningococcal C and HPV among adolescents, and reveal significant geographic disparities, with vaccination coverage generally higher in northern France.
Access epidemiological data
Vaccination-info-service.fr : the leading website on vaccination
"What diseases am I vaccinated against? Are my vaccines up to date? Which vaccines require a booster? What are vaccines for?"...
As the first institutional website on vaccination aimed at the general public, vaccination-info-service.fr is an information site designed by Santé publique France at the request of the Ministry of Health and in collaboration with institutional partners and experts. Its purpose is to provide factual and practical information to answer questions about vaccination. Engaging multimedia content (animations, infographics, expert videos, etc.) enriches the site, making information accessible to as many people as possible.
2017 Vaccination Schedule and Recommendations from the Ministry of Health
*2016 Health Barometer: survey conducted from January 8 to August 2, 2016, among a sample of 15,216 people aged 15 to 75 residing in metropolitan France.
