This vaccine is the only way to prevent certain cancers. However, many parents are still hesitant to have their children vaccinated, according to a survey by the League against Cancer.
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Vaccination against papillomaviruses is slipping. In 2020, a third of adolescent girls were fully vaccinated. In boys, vaccination is just starting. However, this vaccine is the only one which makes it possible to avoid cancers which each year cause nearly 3,000 deaths. During their lifetime, eight out of ten young people will be exposed to the papillomavirus, both girls and boys. Most often this sexually transmitted infection does not cause symptoms and has no impact on health. But it can trigger cancer of the cervix, anus, vagina, vulva, ENT area or penis.
This HPV vaccine has been around for 15 years. It was first intended only for teenage girls between 11 and 14 years old, before the first sexual intercourse. Since there is a “catch-up” vaccine for up to 19 years. Among young girls, vaccination is progressing but slowly: 45% of 16-year-old girls had their first dose in 2021, only 5% more than in 2020. Since last year, the vaccine is also recommended for boys . According to figures published by Santé Publique France, only 6% of 15-year-old adolescents were vaccinated at the end of 2021.
The League Against Cancer has analyzed the results of the survey it commissioned from Opinion Way: 31% of parents are not convinced of the benefits of vaccination for girls, and these figures rise to 35% for boys. These results are “alarming” for the President of the League Against Cancer. Daniel Nizri urgently calls for the mobilization of public authorities to strengthen prevention. “Vaccines against papillomaviruses, he said, are part of the effective and safe means to eradicate this infection and the cancers it generates.
According to this survey, nearly half of parents opposed to vaccination believe that there is a lack of perspective on this vaccine against the papillomavirus. 41% of them are afraid of side effects and more than a third of parents mention the lack of proof on the effectiveness of the vaccine to explain their distrust. However, studies show that this vaccine is more than 86% effective and that it does not cause autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The National Medicines Safety Agency notes a tiny risk of triggering Guillain-Barré syndrome, one to two cases per 100,000 young girls vaccinated. And, for the moment, it is the only study that raises this risk.