In the queue at a pharmacy, the question often comes up in the fall: have you planned your flu vaccine? Much less often: where are you with shingles or pneumococcus? It is this discrepancy that is highlighted in a bulletin published on October 8, 2026 by Public Health France, with vaccination coverage data in France for 2025.
Among people aged 65 and over, 57% were vaccinated against the fluwhile coverage against shingles remained less than 10%. The useful message is therefore quick to remember: after 65 years, thinking about the flu is not enough to know if your vaccination record is up to date.
Why is this bulletin reviving the discussion after 65 years?
The flu remains the most visible marker, because the campaign returns every year. Ameli also reminds that this vaccination is recommended every year for people aged 65 and over. But the Public Health France bulletin shows that other vaccines recommended or to be verified in older adults are much less present.
In this 2025 data, coverage against Covid-19 was 17% among people aged 65 and over. For pneumococcus, Public Health France indicates 26% of people correctly vaccinated among those aged 65 and over with risk factor. For shingles, coverage remained below 10%.
These figures should be read for what they are:
vaccination coverage datameasured or estimated. They do not indicate the individual effectiveness of a vaccine and do not replace medical advice. Above all, they point out a gap between well-identified vaccinations, such as that against the flu, and those which may be forgotten in adult follow-up.
Shingles, pneumococcus: what are we really talking about?
Shingles is linked to the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Ameli says it can cause a painful rash and, in some people, pain that lingers after the pimples go away, called postherpetic pain. Shingrix shingles vaccination is recommended for immunocompetent individuals 65 years of age and older.
Pneumococcus is a bacteria. Ameli points out that it is involved in the majority of pneumonias and that it can also be responsible for ear infections or meningitis. Pneumococcal vaccination is now recommended for all people aged 65 and over, according to the terms of the current vaccination schedule.
These protections do not replace that against the flu: they do not target the same infections. This is precisely why a vaccination record can seem “up to date” in the mind of a person who is doing their annual flu booster, without being completely up to date with regard to the other recommendations.
What to ask your doctor or pharmacist?
The right reflex is not to check off a list of vaccines alone, nor to schedule injections without notice. Rather, it consists of having your situation checked with a health professional, starting with simple questions: with my age, my history and my vaccinations already carried out, what should be updated?
The doctor or pharmacist will be able to compare the vaccination record, the recommendations in force and the specific situations, in particular the risk factors. This point is particularly important for properly interpreting the bulletin data: for example, the figure of 26% for pneumococcus concerns people aged 65 and over. with risk factorand not all seniors.
To place these developments in context, True Medical has already detailed the vaccination against pneumococci recommended for everyone over 65 and offered an overview of new vaccinations in France in 2025. At 65 and beyond, the vaccination record is therefore not a childhood document to be put in the bottom of a drawer: it is a benchmark to be reopened regularly, especially when the recommendations change.