During this challenging period, marked by difficulties in maintaining continuity of care amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all stakeholders have rallied together to continue vaccinating infants and maintain satisfactory vaccination coverage.

Vaccination coverage, as measured by Santé publique France at the end of May for the first dose of the hexavalent vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b) and for the meningococcal C vaccine, did not decrease in 2020 compared to 2019. However, vaccination coverage for the first dose of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine among children aged 14 and 15 months in May 2020 decreased by 2.5 percentage points compared to last year, with a trend toward a more pronounced decline in departments where the SARS-CoV-2 virus circulated most widely.

Now more than ever, and to ensure adequate protection for everyone, parents and healthcare professionals must remain committed to catching up on vaccinations missed over the past three months among infants as well as older children.

The expansion of mandatory vaccination has significantly improved vaccination coverage among infants under two years of age, particularly against meningitis C and measles, but efforts must be particularly sustained to achieve the 95% coverage target set by the WHO.

The report on the first year of the expanded infant vaccination requirements, in effect since January 1, 2018, is being released today. This report includes, for the year 2018, vaccination coverage data, pharmacovigilance monitoring, vaccination adherence data, and the results of surveys conducted among frontline professionals responsible for verifying mandatory vaccinations for infants upon their entry into childcare settings. The pharmacovigilance data confirm the safety of mandatory vaccines for children under 2 years of age.