the government wants to strengthen vaccination

Emmanuel Macron announced, Tuesday, February 28, a vaccination campaign “widespread” in colleges to eradicate the papillomavirus, also known by the abbreviation HPV. On the 20 Hours set, doctor and journalist Damien Mascret explains: “HPV is a virus that we come across quickly from the first sexual contacts, a simple flirtation is enough because the virus is present on the genital areas and very contagious. You must therefore be vaccinated before coming across HPV.” Each year, this virus is responsible for 6,000 cancers, including 2,900 cancers of the cervix. It can also cause genital and throat cancers.

Target 800,000 5th graders

For now, in France, “only 37% of girls and 9% of boys are vaccinated”, regrets the health professional. Before specifying: “For the moment the vaccination window is quite wide since the vaccine is recommended between 11 and 14 years old, with a possible catch-up between 15 and 19 years old, even up to 26 years old.” The government wants to target the 800,000 students entering 5th grade and thus increase vaccination coverage.