Insufficient HPV vaccination | Seronet

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a very common sexually transmitted infection, which affects more than 80% of people (men and women) at the start of their sexual life, recalls a recent press release from the Academy of Medicine. In France, these viruses are responsible, each year, for more than 100,000 benign genital warts, more than 30,000 pre-cancerous lesions and more than 8,000 cancers of the genital, anal and oropharyngeal regions. The first anti-HPV vaccines were put on the market in 2007. They have been gradually expanded to include, since 2018, the 9 types of HPV causing benign tumors, pre-cancers and HPV-dependent cancers. In 2007, global health recommendations for HPV vaccination were only for girls aged 11-14. In France, in 2019, the vaccination recommendations were extended to boys of the same age group with 65% coverage by Health Insurance from January 1, 2021, recalls the Academy. In 2020, in Europe, vaccination coverage exceeded 50% in 20 countries and 75% in eleven countries including Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. In France (in 27th position), it only reached 28% (mainly among girls), 29% for a single dose at 15 years old and 24% for a complete two-dose vaccination schedule at 16 years old. The following year, after the recommendations were extended to boys, French vaccination coverage was 41% (45.8% for girls and 6% for boys), a level very far from the objectives set by the Strategy. sexual health and the Cancer Plan: 60% among adolescent girls aged 11 to 19 in 2023 and 80% by 2030 [5,6]. How can this insufficient vaccination coverage observed in France be explained? The Academy of Medicine puts forward several explanations: a ten-year strategy to fight against cancer (2021-2030) mainly focused on the prevention of cervical cancer, therefore limited to girls; a lack of political and strategic coordination on the part of the Regional Health Agencies (ARS). Actions to improve anti-HPV vaccination coverage are rare in France and poorly coordinated when they exist; a lack of confidence among some health professionals who give up trying to convince their patients. Various surveys show that 40% of doctors do not systematically recommend this vaccination, evoking an act “badly perceived” by the parents. In a communiquéthe National Academy of Medicine recalls that it has spoken out on several occasions on the need to implement a national anti-HPV vaccination program for adolescents of both sexes, emphasizing the effectiveness and good tolerance of the vaccines marketed.