HPV vaccinations among adolescents fall to extreme levels
Vaccination against HPV viruses can prevent deadly cancers - but not even seven percent of Bavarian children and adolescents have had at least the first of two necessary injections. And the trend is negative: the number of first vaccinations fell by a further 19 percent last year despite the official recommendation. This is the result of an analysis by the health insurance company DAK Bayern, which is available to the German Press Agency. There was a 25 percent drop in the number of boys and a 15 percent drop in the number of girls. The figures for 15 to 17-year-old boys were particularly negative, with a 39 percent drop.
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are sexually transmitted and can cause cancer of the female and male genitals, anus, cervix and oropharynx. "The increasingly high decline is alarming and a bad sign for the health care of our children," emphasized DAK state director Sophie Schwab. The President of the Professional Association of Pediatricians and Adolescent Doctors, Thomas Fischbach, also described the low initial vaccination rate compared to the rest of Europe as "worrying". The hoped-for catch-up effect after the coronavirus pandemic had failed to materialize.
Compared to the pre-corona year 2019, the figures fell by almost a third (31%). Boys in particular (minus 37%) were less likely to receive a vaccination for the first time than girls (minus 28%). Here, too, the trend was worst among 15 to 17-year-olds - the bottom line for adolescent boys was a drop of 53%. Only 4.7 percent of them had been vaccinated at least once; two injections are required for full vaccination protection.
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommends HPV vaccination for both girls and boys in order to prevent cancers, some of which are fatal. Vaccination, which also protects future partners, should ideally take place before the first sexual contact, i.e. between the ages of 9 and 14. Missed vaccinations should be caught up on as early as possible.
For the current DAK special analysis as part of the Children and Young People's Report, a research team examined billing data from around 107,500 children and young people insured with DAK Bayern from 2017 to 2022. Thanks to the broad database, the results are considered representative of all young people in Bavaria.
Although the HPV vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of serious diseases for children and youth, the uptake rates in Bavaria are alarmingly low. In fact, less than 5% of adolescent boys in the region have received even a single HPV vaccine dose, as indicated by a recent analysis by DAK Bayern.
The low vaccination rates among children and youth in Bavaria are concerning, given that HPV infections can lead to various cancers, including those affecting the genitals, anus, cervix, and oropharynx, which are potentially fatal for both males and females.
Source: www.dpa.com
