Vaccinating against HPV is not new in Utrecht. Since the beginning of the year, young people born between 1996 and 2003 can go to a number of different locations in the province, including Utrecht and Amersfoort. Rens de Jonge, vaccination and screening manager in the Utrecht region: “The location at the Utrecht Science Park fits in well with our target group, which in this case is the age group of the average student.”
This temporary location is mainly about convenience: because you are already in De Uithof for your studies, you can just walk in to get an injection; Making an appointment is not necessary. De Jonge: “We know from experience that the closer you are to the target group, the easier it is for people to actually get a vaccination.”
That low threshold also plays a major role for UU student Geert-Jan (25) who comes to get an injection. “It went better than expected. I thought, just like with the corona vaccine, that I had to sit down for fifteen minutes, but I didn’t have to. And it is ideal that this can be done without an appointment.”
That was also the case with Hendrik (24). He tried to make an appointment for the vaccination at a different location a while back, which didn’t work. This morning, Thursday 9 March, the first day the location is open, he hadn’t yet thought that he was going to get vaccinated now. “I just came here to study,” he shrugs.
Protects against six types of cancer
At the top of the first staircase you have to climb to get to the library, there are two GGD employees who help students register their personal and medical data and answer questions. A common question from female students is: “I had the cervical cancer shot when I was twelve, is this the same?”
The short answer to that is: yes. These students do not need to be vaccinated again. The vaccine protects against the human papillomavirus which can lead to cancer in some cases. HPV is a highly contagious virus that affects approximately eight out of ten people at least once in their lives and is sexually transmitted. Most people often don’t know they have it, because not everyone gets sick. In addition, your body usually clears the virus itself.
In some cases, this virus can affect your cells. In that case, it can lead to cancer. Cervical cancer is a common cancer caused by the HPV virus, which is why the shot used to be called that. But HPV can also cause cancer of the penis, anus, labia, vagina, and mouth and throat. The GGD has therefore been vaccinating against the HPV virus since 2009.