Covid-19: Vaccination campaign extended until this date due to the risk of an "epidemic resurgence" this summer?

The government had already decided to extend the vaccination campaign until June 30. But there are several reasons why it could continue.

The spring vaccination campaign is being extended. Initially scheduled to run until June 15, 2025, it has already been extended by two weeks, until the 30th of the month. The Directorate General of Health (DGS) justified this decision in a press release by citing "the context of the emergence of the NB.1.8.1 variant and in order to allow as many people as possible to protect themselves."

This new variant of Covid-19 "risks becoming dominant," according to a press release from the French National Academy of Medicine, published on June 25, 2025. Having appeared at the beginning of the year in China, "its prevalence is increasing in North America and several European countries," although it remains "low," according to the French Academy of Medicine. Several cases have been recorded in France. The latest bulletins published by Public Health France report an increase in consultations and hospitalizations due to Covid-19. The French Academy of Medicine is reassuring: the NB.1.8.1 variant "does not appear" to be the cause "of more severe forms than the other variants in circulation."

This new variant has been classified as a "variant under surveillance" by the World Health Organization. There are several reasons for concern surrounding this variant. First, it is causing a notable increase in cases in Asia. The Hong Kong government recently revealed in a press release that "the main COVID-19 surveillance indicators have reached their highest level in a year." Second, according to the Academy of Medicine, mutations in this strain "could increase the virus's transmissibility" and "facilitate its escape from antibodies induced by previous infections or vaccinations." The WHO assures that Covid-19 vaccines "should remain effective" against this variant.

The population still needs to be vaccinated... That's the whole problem. "We must deplore the insufficient uptake of vaccination, particularly among the most at-risk populations. The spring vaccination campaign, launched on April 15, 2025, and aimed at the most vulnerable people, does not seem to be meeting with strong support among the target population," regrets the Academy of Medicine. This is why the vaccination campaign "could be extended until July 15," i.e., by two additional weeks.

The goal of this spring campaign, which began on April 15, is to protect at-risk individuals during the summer. In 2024, epidemic peaks were observed in late June/early July and late September. Given the "risk of an epidemic resurgence" this summer, the French Academy of Medicine therefore recommends that vulnerable individuals (aged 80 or older, immunocompromised, etc.) get vaccinated "without delay."