Headlines - Vaccination of Young Children: Data to Better Understand Public Policy

In November 2016, Professor Alain Fischer submitted a report on vaccination in France to the Minister of Health, making 13 recommendations (including the expansion of mandatory vaccination to eliminate confusion between mandatory and recommended vaccines). These recommendations stem from the work of the steering committee of the citizen consultation on vaccination, supported by two panels (one of citizens and one of healthcare professionals), as well as numerous contributors from civil society and experts.On the occasion of the parliamentary debate on mandatory vaccination, Santé publique France is publishing an educational report and a weekly epidemiological bulletin outlining the current state of knowledge regarding vaccination in France. These documents present epidemiological arguments in favor of improving vaccination coverage among young children, results from the 2016 Health Barometer on vaccination acceptance, as well as the perspectives of the College of General Medicine and residents in public health and general medicine.Surveys of attitudes among 18- to 75-year-olds show that 75.1% of people in France expressed support for vaccination in general in 2016. This level of support increased significantly compared to 2010 (61.2%) but decreased compared to 2014 (78.8%). It remains high overall.Furthermore, the fact that a vaccine is merely recommended gives it an optional nature, leading to questions regarding its usefulness, effectiveness, and safety. In contrast, mandatory vaccination appears to have a positive effect on perceptions of the vaccine. Thus, if the DTP vaccine were no longer mandatory, 12.8% of parents would “probably or certainly not” have their child vaccinated. Finally, 81.3% of parents report seeking information from a doctor on this subject; it is therefore essential to reaffirm the doctor’s key role in informing parents about vaccinating their children. Seeking information online (37.4% of parents) is associated with lower vaccination rates. To counter this trend, the website vaccination-info-service.fr was created to answer questions from the public seeking information on vaccination. It provides factual, practical, and scientifically validated information in an accessible and engaging manner.