Last spring, boys were invited for the first time for a shot against the various forms of cancer that can cause HPV. The injection age has also been lowered from thirteen to ten. The turnout among the new groups is still disappointing, but RIVM hopes that repeat invitations will boost the percentage.
By our news editorsIn total, more than 800,000 teenagers received an invitation for the HPV shot last spring. HPV stands for the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus, which can lead to cervical cancer, among other things.
“There is actually one negative outlier,” says a spokesperson for the RIVM. She is referring to boys who were born in 2004 and who will turn eighteen this year. In that group, the turnout percentage is slightly lower than 34 percent. This percentage is higher for boys from 2008: of the boys who turn fourteen this year, 45.5 percent received the jab. Of all girls born in 2012, at least 49.2 percent passed the jab.
The spokesperson says that RIVM is happy if half of the young people get an HPV shot this year. That this is not yet the case, she says, is not a disaster. There will be another round of repeat injections that can increase the percentage considerably. RIVM therefore hopes that many teenagers will make use of it.
In addition, the actual turnout rate is likely to be slightly higher. Parents and young people do not have to give permission to share their data. As a result, some of the data is anonymous. The RIVM says that in 10 percent of cases the age and sex of the vaccinated person are not known.
Wat is HPV?
- HPV staat voor humaan papillomavirus.
- Ieder jaar krijgen duizend vrouwen en vierhonderd mannen in Nederland kanker door het virus.
- HPV is zeer besmettelijk en seksueel overdraagbaar. De meeste mensen die met het virus in contact komen, merken daar niets van.
- Het HPV-vaccin werkt het best als je nog geen seks hebt gehad, vandaar dat het op jonge leeftijd toegediend wordt.
- Het vaccin kan niet helemaal voorkomen dat je bijvoorbeeld baarmoederhalskanker krijgt, maar biedt wel voor een groot deel bescherming.
Turnout this year lower than usual
Normally, the turnout percentage is around 60 percent halfway through the year. This year, just under half of all invited teens got the shot. In 2020, the vaccination round was postponed due to the corona pandemic.
This year, many teenagers received the invitation for the HPV jab at the same time as that for the corona jab. According to the spokesperson, this may be a reason that a number of teenagers have not yet made use of the first invitation.
The fact that boys were invited for the first time may also play a role. As a result, the group that is invited is a lot larger. “Some young people and their parents then need more time to make a vaccination choice,” RIVM estimates.
The invitations were sent last spring to boys and girls born in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012. Early next year, children from 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013 can be vaccinated.
The HPV vaccination is part of the National Immunization Programme. It also contains vaccinations against diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, mumps, measles and rubella.