The 2009 flu pandemic, involving an outbreak of a new strain of influenza commonly known as swine flu (usually referred as "grippe A" or "grippe porcine" in French), reached France in early May 2009.
In order to respond to flu epidemics in France, the government has a "national plan", which is also applied for this flu pandemic. In this plan, the different phases of the flu, which are slightly different from the World Health Organization phases, are detailed.
Government reaction to the flu.
A governmental web site has been created to inform the population of the dangers and good practices to avoid the spread of the disease.
The French government lags behind the decision of the World Health Organization to upgrade to phase 6. It is currently in phase 5A in France.
A mandatory mass vaccination plan has been discussed. This vaccination plan is currently implemented, it is free and not mandatory.
In July 2010, France initially ordered 1,46 doses per inhabitant, the third largest amount among members of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI), behind the United Kingdom and Canada. In January, 50 million of the initial 94 million doses were cancelled.
Timeline.
April.
The French government asks Europe to decide to cancel all flights to Mexico.
May.
On 1 May, the French Health Minister confirmed, during the 8 p.m. TF1 news, that 2 cases of A(H1N1) flu have been detected in France.
The government discusses the possibility of ordering 100 million vaccine doses against the flu from three companies (GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Novartis).
The French government plans to vaccinate the entire French population (65 million inhabitants)
France, by region.
The detailed situation by region is updated by the National Institute of Health
References.
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