Health. Flu: MPs approve mandatory vaccination for nursing home residents and healthcare workers

Members of Parliament adopted on Wednesday in the Social Affairs Committee a bill creating a legal basis for mandatory flu vaccination for residents of nursing homes and certain healthcare professionals. This measure is part of the 2026 Social Security budget bill. The vote will have to be repeated in the plenary session, where members will once again examine the government's initial text, as is standard procedure for budgetary bills.

The measure stipulates that, "subject to a recommendation" from the French National Authority for Health (HAS), flu vaccination will be mandatory for residents of nursing homes "during the epidemic period." The same requirement, contingent upon a recommendation from the HAS, is also planned for "healthcare professionals practicing independently in a profession listed in a decree issued by the Council of State." This decree will specify the "working conditions" of the healthcare professionals concerned and the "exposure to risks of contamination" that these conditions entail, particularly for the individuals in their care.

An amendment proposed by National Rally MP Guillaume Florquin was adopted to introduce an exception to the mandatory vaccination requirement for healthcare workers in cases of "recognized medical contraindications." The bill's rapporteur, Thibault Bazin (The Republicans), had expressed support for this amendment, arguing that such an exception was also included in the text for residents of nursing homes.

Socialist MP Jérôme Guedj welcomed the "normalization of mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers," after "a long road." Mandatory flu vaccination for healthcare professionals 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.