Since the start of the campaign in middle school, vaccination of adolescents against the papillomavirus has seen a notable increase in France, including in community medicine, even if this still needs to be improved, according to data published Friday April 26 by Public Health France . “Taking into account vaccinations in middle school as well as in private practice”, vaccination coverage increased by 17 points among girls and 15 points among 12-year-old boys, between the start and the end of the first phase targeting 5th grade students.
Overall, in cities and colleges, the proportion of girls born in 2011 having received at least one dose of anti-HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine is “estimated at 55%” by the end of 2023, SpF said. For boys, it’s 41%. “These increases are part of an upward trend in HPV vaccination coverage,” noted the health agency. In the last quarter of 2022, over a period equivalent to that of the campaign, the increases were four points among girls and boys of the same age.
“More complete analyses, based in particular on a study conducted among parents in colleges, will make it possible to estimate the real gain in vaccination coverage against HPV obtained thanks to the campaign,” Public Health France also specified. It is not “excluded that certain adolescents whose HPV vaccination would have been scheduled in the city in the coming months may have taken the opportunity to be vaccinated at college.”
The objective set by the Ministry of Health at the beginning of September 2023 was at least 30% of 5th grade students vaccinated at college for this first edition. And provisional official figures, obtained in early February, showed that only 10% of 5th grade students had received a first dose.
“400,000 12-year-olds” vaccinated in 2023
Promised at the start of 2023 by Emmanuel Macron, this vaccination campaign against the human papillomavirus, the cause of numerous cancers (cervix, vulva, vagina, ENT, anus, etc.), was launched at the beginning of October in all public colleges , and voluntary private establishments. Touting results “beyond what we had as an objective”, the Minister in charge of Health Frédéric Valletoux was pleased on LCI that “400,000 adolescents aged 12 this year [have] been vaccinated, the half of [this] age group.”
The campaign “made it possible to offer free and accessible vaccination to as many people as possible, but also to raise awareness among young people and parents”, with “a probable positive effect on vaccination in the city”, according to a press release from the ministry and SpF. Public Health France also noted an increase in vaccination coverage among older adolescents “greater than in previous years”.
Overall, “although notable increases in vaccination coverage for vaccination against papillomavirus infections have been observed, this vaccination coverage still needs to be improved in young girls and especially in young boys”, however, underlines the agency. The goal is to reach 80% by 2030.
