Vaccination in France - Statistics & Facts
Vaccination represents a major public health issue and remains the most effective means of prevention to protect against certain serious infections. The need to eradicate these infectious diseases has prompted the French public authorities to extend compulsory vaccination for children under age two. Since 2018, the number of mandatory vaccines in France has increased from three to eleven. As a result of such measures, immunization rates have increased over the last years in France.
The French health authorities, in alignment with the World Health Organization, recommend certain vaccines to protect more vulnerable individuals such as infants, pregnant women, or the elderly. In addition to 11 mandatory vaccines, the French health authorities commonly recommend four vaccines depending on risk factors: tuberculosis, influenza, typhoid, and HPV. As a result of prevention campaigns, the share of young women vaccinated against HPV or the share of people vaccinated against influenza notably increased in the country. Vaccination rates have thus improved in France and are one step closer to full coverage. However, vaccination remains a major public health issue as French health authorities must strengthen public acceptance of vaccination in the midst of a growing anti-vaccination movement.
*a 6-in-1 vaccine against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Poliomyelitis, Pertussis, Hemophilus influenza type B, and Hepatitis B.
Immunization rates by mandatory and recommended vaccines
According to the infant immunization rate by a hexavalent vaccine*, nearly all French infants born in 2020 received at least one dose. Similarly, the share of infants who received a pneumococcal vaccine increased to 99.7 percent among infants born in 2020. On the other hand, a year after being made mandatory, the share of infants who received an MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) stood at 92.2 percent. However, infants who received a meningococcal vaccine showed even lower inoculation rates.The French health authorities, in alignment with the World Health Organization, recommend certain vaccines to protect more vulnerable individuals such as infants, pregnant women, or the elderly. In addition to 11 mandatory vaccines, the French health authorities commonly recommend four vaccines depending on risk factors: tuberculosis, influenza, typhoid, and HPV. As a result of prevention campaigns, the share of young women vaccinated against HPV or the share of people vaccinated against influenza notably increased in the country. Vaccination rates have thus improved in France and are one step closer to full coverage. However, vaccination remains a major public health issue as French health authorities must strengthen public acceptance of vaccination in the midst of a growing anti-vaccination movement.
Was the coronavirus vaccine the tipping point for a growing anti-vaccine movement?
In late 2020, France launched a recommended coronavirus vaccine to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Government and health authorities promoted this vaccine as the way out of the pandemic. However, a large share of French people did not trust their government’s ability to carry out this vaccine campaign. According to a survey conducted in September 2021, nearly a year after the start of the vaccination campaign, most French people who were uncertain about the vaccine questioned its safety or efficiency and worried that clinical trials moved too fast. However, this distrust towards vaccines was not something new: before the pandemic, according to a study on the state of vaccine confidence in 2018, already a third of French people did not believe vaccines were safe back then. Ultimately, the mandatory nature of some vaccines fostered an already growing anti-vaccination movement.*a 6-in-1 vaccine against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Poliomyelitis, Pertussis, Hemophilus influenza type B, and Hepatitis B.
