how to explain the failure of the vaccination campaign in colleges?

The campaign against “HPV”, launched last school year, is currently far from the objectives stated by the government. Lack of communication is particularly to blame.

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A nurse injects a dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into the arm of a middle school student, October 9, 2023. (DAMIEN MEYER / AFP)

The end of the vaccination campaign against papillomaviruses in college, “HPV”, will be among the projects of the future Minister of Health. The second dose must be injected around May-June for 5th grade students who have already received the first dose this fall.
Although it is difficult to obtain precise figures – the Ministry of Health has provided practically none since the start of the campaign – this first year of vaccination in college is in any case very well below the stated objectives.

This campaign is even a flop, with less than 10% of students having received a first dose of vaccine, recognizes the Ministry of Health. The initial, rather modest, objective was to reach 30% of 5th grade students vaccinated against papillomaviruses. These viruses, sexually transmitted in adults, cause more than 60,000 cancers in men and women in France.

A campaign barely supported by the authorities

This first vaccination campaign at the college was barely supported and supported by the health authorities and the ministries concerned. Almost no information was provided to parents in September, then the injection of the first dose took place in the fall to general indifference. Private colleges were not obliged to organize it and certain health professionals specializing in the fight against papillomaviruses, who had volunteered to provide information or vaccinate, were not even called back.

The campaign was also marred by the accidental death of a student at the end of October, near Nantes, after falling heavily from his chair following post-vaccination discomfort. “This type of discomfort can occur due to stress caused by vaccination, but is unrelated to the vaccine product or to a quality defect in the vaccine”declared the Regional Health Agency in a press release.


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