Vaccination during pregnancy: what the 8 October 2026 bulletin measures
Vaccination during pregnancy is clearly on the rise in France, but very unevenly from one vaccine to another. According to the national bulletin published on 8 October 2026 by Santé publique France (the French public health agency), 71.3% of women who gave birth in 2025 were vaccinated against whooping cough, compared with 43.4% two years earlier. For respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis, 53.0% of pregnant women in the 2025-2026 season were vaccinated, compared with 32.9% the season before. Flu remains at around 22% and Covid-19 at 6%, figures the agency considers underestimated but still low.
These four vaccinations have one thing in common: they are aimed first and foremost at the baby. A vaccinated woman passes her antibodies on to the child she is carrying, who is then protected during the first months of life, before being old enough to be vaccinated. Here is what the bulletin says, vaccine by vaccine, and what it means for parents expecting a baby this winter.
Which vaccines are recommended during pregnancy?
The bulletin sets out the recommendations in force in 2025:
- Whooping cough: recommended since 2022 from the second trimester, ideally between weeks 20 and 36 of pregnancy, and in every pregnancy.
- RSV infections: since 2023, all pregnant women between weeks 32 and 36 of pregnancy, in other words the eighth month, can be vaccinated. For the 2025-2026 season, vaccination was available from September to February.
- Flu: recommended throughout pregnancy, whatever the trimester.
- Covid-19: recommended throughout pregnancy.
The mechanism is the same in all four cases: passive immunisation. Antibodies produced by the mother cross the placenta, especially towards the end of pregnancy. They protect the infant during the period when they are most vulnerable and too young to receive any vaccine themselves. For whooping cough, we have covered what is at stake in our article on whooping cough in babies.
Whooping cough: almost three quarters of women vaccinated in 2025
Coverage rose from 43.4% for births in 2023 to 62.3% in 2024, then to 71.3% in 2025, a gain of 27.9 percentage points in two years. Santé publique France attributes this rise, at least in part, to vaccination being offered more often and to the messaging that followed the 2024 whooping cough epidemic.
Regional differences remain large. Brittany (85.0%), Pays de la Loire (83.7%) and Normandy (83.1%) lead the way. Corsica (59.9%), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (64.3%) and Île-de-France (64.9%) lag behind. In the French overseas departments and regions, coverage is very low: 14.4% in French Guiana and 14.6% in Martinique, 31.0% in Guadeloupe, 61.7% in Réunion. The bulletin points out that the data for French Guiana do not cover the whole territory and probably overestimate actual coverage.
RSV: more than half of eligible women, and an alternative at birth
For the 2025-2026 season, 53.0% of pregnant women were vaccinated against RSV, up from 32.9% in 2024-2025, an increase of 20.1 points. Coverage is highest among women who gave birth in January (60.5%). Regionally, Brittany (72.4%) and Pays de la Loire (65.5%) come out on top; Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (39.7%) and Corsica (46.8%) bring up the rear. In French Guiana (7.2%) and Martinique (7.8%), vaccination remains marginal.
This figure needs to be read with a caveat that the bulletin highlights: there is an alternative, the monoclonal antibody given to the baby at birth, which offers at least equivalent protection against bronchiolitis. According to an EPI-PHARE study cited by Santé publique France, 72.9% of babies born between September and December 2024 received nirsevimab. Over the same period, 27.1% of women who gave birth had been vaccinated. The vast majority of babies born during the high-risk period are therefore protected one way or the other. We describe how this works in our article on the bronchiolitis prevention campaign. Santé publique France expects to publish an estimate of nirsevimab coverage before the end of 2026.
Flu and Covid-19: low coverage, and hard to measure
For the 2024-2025 season, data from the Assurance Maladie (French national health insurance) show 21.8% of pregnant women vaccinated against flu and 6.2% against Covid-19. The bulletin stresses the limits of these figures: vaccines given in hospital, on the maternity ward or through work are not reimbursed individually, so they are not counted. The gap can be significant. In 2021, flu coverage among pregnant women was estimated at 30.4% by the Enquête nationale périnatale (the French national perinatal survey), compared with 19.5% according to reimbursement data for the same women.
Even after correction, these coverage rates remain below target. Santé publique France concludes that flu vaccination “still needs more promotion”. As for the Covid-19 recommendation during pregnancy, it “is not understood by health professionals or the target population”. What this means for babies is explained in our article on flu in babies and the 2026-2027 campaign.
Why such differences between the four vaccines?
The bulletin draws a useful conclusion: comparing the four coverage rates rules out a problem of access to care or a general refusal of vaccination during pregnancy. Women who accept the whooping cough vaccine at a rate of 71% are not refusing vaccination as such. What differs is the way each vaccine is offered and explained by the professionals who follow the pregnancy. The agency recommends continuing and stepping up the promotion of these vaccinations among pregnant women and healthcare staff. It plans studies to measure coverage more precisely and to understand attitudes behind under-vaccination.
Pregnancy check-ups offer opportunities to talk about it. The early prenatal interview, whose uptake we covered in our article on the early prenatal interview, is one of them. The monthly antenatal appointments are others.
What should you do if you are expecting a baby this winter?
The bulletin describes coverage rates, not individual advice. The pointers below reflect the recommendations it cites; the decision is made with the midwife or doctor who is following your pregnancy.
- Between weeks 20 and 36 of pregnancy, vaccination against whooping cough is recommended, in every pregnancy, even if you were vaccinated during a previous pregnancy.
- Between weeks 32 and 36, during the RSV season, there are two options to protect your baby from bronchiolitis: the maternal vaccine or the antibody given to the baby at birth. The two are not combined; the maternity unit will help you choose.
- Flu vaccination is possible at any stage of pregnancy, as soon as the autumn campaign starts.
- A baby born early benefits less from the transfer of antibodies, which mainly takes place towards the end of pregnancy. We discuss this in our article on premature birth in France.
- After birth, the baby’s vaccination schedule takes over, from 2 months. It is explained in detail in our article on baby vaccinations in France.
Other behaviours during pregnancy also affect the newborn’s health, starting with smoking, whose figures we have gathered in our article on smoking and pregnancy.
Key takeaways
In 2025, vaccination during pregnancy passed a milestone for whooping cough, at 71% of women, and for RSV, at 53%, with a sharp rise over two years. Flu and Covid-19 remain far behind, at levels that Santé publique France considers insufficient despite probable underestimation. The differences between regions, and above all with the overseas territories, are considerable. What these four vaccines have in common stays the same: they protect the baby during the months when nothing else can.
Sources
- Santé publique France, “Vaccination des femmes enceintes, des seniors et des adultes à risque. Données 2025”, national bulletin, national edition, published on 8 October 2026 (pages 1 to 7, 19 to 21). SNDS-DCIR data as of 31 December 2025 for whooping cough and 31 March 2026 for RSV.
- Jabagi M., Bertrand M., Gabet A., Kolla E., Olié V., Zureik M., “Nirsevimab vs RSVpreF Vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Hospitalization in Newborns”, JAMA, 2026, vol. 335, no. 9, pp. 787-798 (EPI-PHARE study), cited in the bulletin, full text not reviewed.
- Vaux S. et al., “Couverture vaccinale contre la grippe des femmes enceintes, propositions de vaccination et étude des déterminants, France métropolitaine, 2019-2021”, Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire, 2023, no. 17, pp. 338-346, cited in the bulletin.
