On the occasion of European Vaccination Week, the ARS reveals that Normandy is one of the regions of France where vaccination coverage is the highest. Interview with Dr Jocelyn Michonne, MD in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital Caen.
Normans don’t shy away from bites when it comes to protecting themselves. It didn’t come as a surprise when you learned that the region was the most vaccinated in France against Covid-19. According to data from Public Health France, Normandy is one of the leading regions with the highest vaccination coverage. In particular, she is a model student when it comes to vaccinating children.
93.2% of newborns received hexavalent (tetanus, polio, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae B, and hepatitis B) vaccines, while the national rate is 91.2%. As far as influenza is concerned, Normandy is on average 4 or 5 points above the national average, whether the population is under 65 (36.8% vs. 31.9%) or over (60, 5% vs. 56.8%).
On Wednesday, May 3rd, the University Hospital of Caen organized a free consultation and vaccination day. The operation allowed about thirty patients to update themselves with certain vaccinations, under the leadership of several physicians including Dr. Jocelyn Michonne, MD in the Department of Infectious Diseases at CHU de Caen. “By talking to people, it’s helpful to assess if they’re keeping up with their reminders or to see if there are other vaccines they need that they don’t know about.”.
The practitioner comes out privately with an important vaccine for adults yet knows so little, a glaring lack of information. “There is a lack of knowledge among the population and physicians of the pneumococcal vaccine. However, all immunocompromised people should be vaccinated. For example, only 10 to 12% of diabetics are fully vaccinated.
According to Dr. Michonne, all people with heart, kidney, respiratory and liver diseases or simply over the age of 65 should be vaccinated. “Pneumococci can cause severe infections of the lungs and meninges, bacteremia … Serious diseases that are difficult to treat “.
In its 2022 report, Public Health France reported poor vaccination coverage against HPV, the human papillomavirus. It is still medium among girls (51.2% for the full chart at age 16) and very low among boys of the same age (11.2%). The numbers should increase very quickly because from the start of the 2023 school year, vaccination will be rolled out to all fifth graders.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Studies estimate the risk of exposure of men and women to this virus during sexual life between 70 and 80%. The infection is responsible for 6,000 new cases of cancer and 30,000 precancerous lesions of the cervix each year.
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