HAS recommends phased mandatory flu vaccination for nursing and healthcare professions

Paris – 20 July 2026: The Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) recommends a phased mandatory annual flu vaccination for employees in healthcare and in social and medico-social care facilities. According to the recommendation published on Monday, implementation should initially cover nursing homes for older people and long-term care units. This does not mean that an immediate legal obligation will come into force.

The authority justifies its proposal by citing the protection of particularly vulnerable patients and residents. It is intended to cover employed and self-employed healthcare professionals, other employees who have contact with people at high risk of severe influenza, and students in medical, nursing and pharmaceutical training programs. HAS points to vaccination rates among employees that remain too low.

For nursing homes, the authority cites a significant gap between residents and staff: 82.7 percent of residents are vaccinated against flu, while the rate among staff is 21 percent. Severe illness and deaths among very elderly people are particularly relevant in these facilities. HAS also sees limits to other protective measures because nursing homes are also places where people live, and activities such as meals cannot be organized permanently under strict infection-control requirements.

According to HAS, implementation should take place over two years and be extended by one year if necessary. A coordinated framework that takes practical feasibility and acceptance into account is a prerequisite. The recommendation is addressed to political decision-makers; further state decisions and, where appropriate, legislation would be needed for a binding vaccination requirement. The previous mandatory flu vaccination for certain professional groups has been suspended since 2006.

The Syndicat national des professionnels infirmiers welcomed the opinion. Its spokesperson Thierry Amouroux described the requirement recommended by HAS as sensible. The professional association has long called for stronger protection of vulnerable people through vaccination of the professionals caring for them. At the same time, it advocates making access to flu vaccination as simple as possible in everyday working life.

Practical options for vaccination have already been expanded in France. Nurses are allowed to prescribe and administer the seasonal flu vaccine for people aged 11 and older, even if they do not belong to a particularly recommended target group. The healthcare system therefore has several access routes in principle. The current debate now mainly concerns whether these options are sufficient or whether a binding rule is needed for professions involving close contact with vulnerable people.