Flu: Are we really heading towards mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes?

Members of Parliament adopted on Wednesday in the Social Affairs Committee the creation of a legal basis for mandatory flu vaccination for residents of nursing homes and certain healthcare professionals .

"Today, only one in five healthcare workers gets vaccinated against the flu. That's too low. Now is the time to get vaccinated, I recommend it," said Health Minister Stéphanie Rist on RMC radio this Friday.

The obligation is therefore conditional upon a recommendation from the HAS (French National Authority for Health), intended for "healthcare professionals practicing independently in a profession listed in a decree issued by the Council of State." This decree must specify the "working conditions" of the healthcare professionals concerned and the "exposure to risks of contamination" that these conditions entail, particularly for the people in their care.

This measure is part of the draft social security budget for 2026. The vote by members of parliament will have to be repeated in the chamber, where they will again examine the government's initial text, as is the rule for budgetary texts.

"What we've included in the budget is that we will make the vaccine mandatory for staff if the High Authority for Health, which is an independent authority in our country, tells us that there is a scientific benefit for the elderly in having healthcare workers vaccinated," explains Stéphanie Rist. The problem is, the opinion won't be issued until the first half of 2026. "For the measure to be implemented next year, it must already be enshrined in law," the minister argues.

"It means there's less risk of needing intensive care; everything else is misinformation," the Health Minister dismissed.

"Until then, I recommend it, because the individual benefit of the flu vaccine is proven. When you have received the flu vaccine, you have less risk of going to intensive care. Everything else is misinformation," argues Stéphanie Rist.

The requirement for healthcare professionals to be vaccinated against the flu was suspended by decree in 2006 under the government of Dominique de Villepin, when Xavier Bertrand was Minister of Health. Although strongly recommended by the authorities, flu vaccination remains uncommon among healthcare professionals in France.