A catch-up among young people aged 19 to 27 to get a vaccination against the contagious HPV has resulted in 160,000 vaccination appointments so far. For young adults, the shot, which can fight six types of cancer, is free this year. They are also approached via social media.
So far, about 12 percent of this age group has taken action and, according to RIVM spokesman Geert Westerhuis, that is ‘not disappointing’. Saturday is ‘HPV Awareness Day’: young people between 19 and 27 years old can therefore walk in without an appointment for a vaccination at 45 GGD locations throughout the country, although the doors in some GGD regions are already open on Thursday and Friday .
Teenagers
What about HPV, the virus that is sexually transmitted and (at a later age) can cause cervical cancer, penile cancer and throat cancer, among other things? Since 2009, girls in the year they turn 10 have been invited for a vaccination, and since 2022, boys who have reached their teens.
Among girls, the turnout for an HPV vaccination grew from about 50 to 70 percent between 2009 and now, where a vaccination rate of 90 percent is desired. Westerhuis: ,,We are therefore trying to catch up this year among the age group of 19 to 27 years. For example with Saturday’s HPV Awareness Day, but also by actively approaching young people on social media. We understand that this target group has other things on their mind, but it is really important.”
Highly contagious
Young adults know almost nothing about the highly contagious and common virus, which eight out of ten people become infected with as soon as they are sexually active. Condom use alone cannot stop infection. Usually the body clears the virus itself, but sometimes it remains present for longer and can develop (a precursor of) cancer years later.
Ideally, the HPV vaccinations (there should be at least five months between the two injections) are administered before someone becomes sexually active, but according to the RIVM, the vaccination can still work very well for people in their 20s.
When the HPV jab for girls was added to the National Immunization Program in 2009, according to Westerhuis, a lot of fake news about the vaccination was circulated on social media. ,, It has now become apparent that these were really jack-of-all-trades stories, that there really are no side effects and that the shot works excellently against HPV. That is why we hope that young people who may have been a bit hesitant at the time will now come and get the shot.”
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