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The HPV vaccine is also effective for adults. So why don't people get vaccinated? - Walla! health

2023-01-23T09:44:15.213Z


The papilloma virus is very, very common and can cause life-threatening diseases - from cervical cancer to throat cancer. So why do half of the parents not allow their children to get vaccinated at school?


Dr. Erez Gerti explains why the papilloma vaccine is safe and important (Walla system!)

The World Health Organization determined, already two years ago, that by means of vaccination against the papilloma virus (HPV) of more than 90 percent of girls and women, in addition to Pap tests of 70 percent of women, it is possible to achieve the eradication of cervical cancer.

But even though the vaccine and tests are available, cervical cancer - and other diseases caused by this very common virus - are still here.

why is it happening?



In 2013, a vaccine against papilloma viruses was introduced into the vaccination routine in Israel, and female students are invited to receive it in the 8th grade.

Since 2018, the vaccine has also been given to boys, and now an expanded vaccine is given against 9 papilloma strains.

Although this is a highly effective vaccine for preventing cancer and other diseases caused by the papilloma virus and although the papilloma vaccine has been found to be very safe by the World Health Organization, only 46.3 percent of students in Israel are vaccinated with the two required doses.

This is a low response rate compared to the 90 percent response required to eradicate cervical cancer.

Every two minutes a woman dies of cervical cancer

At the same time, for many years it has become clear that the use of examination with the help of the cervical surface and early detection, known as "secondary prevention", are not capable of completely preventing the incidence of cervical cancer.

570,000 women in the world still get cervical cancer every year, and almost half of them will not survive.

To illustrate - every two minutes a woman dies of cervical cancer.

In Israel, 260 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year.

Even for the survivors, cervical cancer treatment greatly affects the quality of life, fertility, and even sexuality.

Beyond that, about 5,000 women receive a diagnosis of "pre-cancer" in the cervix, of various degrees, every year.

This is a lesion that precedes the appearance of cancer.

Of course, detecting the disease in a pre-cancerous stage makes it possible to treat and prevent cancer, but the treatments may involve a surgical procedure of removing part of the cervix, and weakening it.

Giving a woman a diagnosis of a pre-cancerous condition immediately raises feelings of anxiety, stress and fear for her life.



On the other hand, vaccination against the papillomavirus constitutes "primary prevention", and exempts from the need to go through the tests due to "early detection" of an infection with the papillomavirus or of a precancerous lesion in the cervix.

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And it's not just cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is only the "tip of the iceberg" of the diseases that can be caused by the papilloma virus.

Vulvar and vaginal cancer are also caused by the papilloma virus.

Not many know, but the virus can also cause malignant tumors in men: oral and pharyngeal cancer is a tumor that develops mainly in men and is caused by the same strains of the papilloma virus that also cause cervical cancer.

In the United States, the incidence of these tumors in men already exceeds the incidence of cervical cancer in women.

In Israel it is diagnosed in about 100 men and women every year.

Rectal cancer also develops in men, but it is also common in women and is caused by the papilloma virus.

70 new cases are detected every year in Israel.



Some strains of the virus also cause benign tumors, called condylomas.

About 20 thousand men and women develop genital warts in Israel every year and need to undergo painful treatments to remove them.

You can and should be vaccinated even if you were not vaccinated as a child

While following the World Health Organization's call for the eradication of cervical cancer, a number of countries reached over 90 percent of vaccination rates at young ages (including Portugal, Australia, etc.), in Israel the immunization coverage at a young age is too low, and varies between different regions of the country, due to the preferences of parents and educational institutions, and circumstances different techniques.

The response to receiving the HPV vaccine in Israel is significantly lower than the response to childhood vaccines, and has not increased during the 10 years in which the vaccine was given in the education system as part of the vaccination routine.

Don't give up on him.

HPV vaccine (Photo: ShutterStock)

Despite the efforts invested in the subject, it seems that there is difficulty in reaching a higher vaccination rate in this age group and there is a "glass ceiling" for reaching sufficient immunization coverage at school age.

In the world, it is customary to open an additional window of opportunity for vaccination, between the ages of 18 and 26. Vaccination at this age is known as: Catch up vaccination or: Vaccination to fill the gap.

Recently, more and more reasons are becoming clear for the need to complete the vaccination gap after the age of 18:



1. Infection with the papilloma virus continues throughout life.

A clear example of the damage from being infected with the virus in old age, is the development of oral and pharyngeal cancer, mainly at the age of 50 and beyond.

As mentioned, this cancer is extremely common, and since the time from infection by the papilloma virus to the appearance of cancer is about 20 years, the infection with the virus occurs around the age of 30. Therefore, it is not too late to prevent infection with the vaccine, even at older ages.



2. Infection with the papilloma virus does not result in natural vaccination.

You can be infected repeatedly by the same strain of the virus.

"Ping-pong" infection between spouses is common.

Only the vaccine leads to the creation of memory cells in the immune system and thus prevention of secondary infection.



3. Although this is a vaccine, which like all vaccines is recommended to be given before infection with the virus, that is, before the start of sexual intercourse, it has been proven that even after infection with the papilloma virus, and even after a pre-cancerous disease or condyloma has developed, it is advisable to give this vaccine as it will lead to a drastic reduction in recurrence (recurrence) of these diseases, due to its ability to teach the immune system to recognize papilloma virus strains.

The effectiveness of the vaccine was found to be extremely high at all ages at which it was tested - from 9 to 45 years of age.



4. Part of the "glass ceiling" that prevents reaching 90 percent vaccination in schools is related to parents' resistance to vaccination at a young age.

Giving an adult a late opportunity to decide on receiving the vaccine himself, when he or she is aware of the risks of not getting vaccinated and the benefits of getting vaccinated late, serves the autonomy of the individual and his right to decide for himself.

Let's learn from Sweden

It is important to note that even before the introduction of the vaccine to Israel, it was recommended that every woman undergo a cervical surface examination starting at the age of 25, once every three to five years.

The surface is a scan to detect the development of precancerous lesions in the cervix.

In recent years, it has been decided in several countries to attach the vaccine against the papilloma virus to the examination of the cervical surface, for those who were not vaccinated in their youth at school.



This combination was nicknamed "HPV Faster", because according to the models that accompanied its introduction, it was found that with the help of the combination many women can be vaccinated, and it was also found that women whose surface test was normal, and at the time they were vaccinated, can confidently avoid cervical screening tests for many years, since they lower the The risk of developing malignant tumors caused by the papilloma virus is very significant.



You can stop being afraid of the papilloma vaccine.

Here are all the reasons


one out of nine: The papillomavirus now puts more men at risk than women



In Sweden, they took the method one step further, and they invite all women over the age of 25 to perform a cervical smear and receive the vaccine at the same time.

They have completely stopped offering cervical resurfacing per se.

The method they introduced is called "HPV even Faster" and they expect to be one of the first countries to eradicate cervical cancer.



In conclusion, the ability to prevent cervical cancer and other cancers caused by the papilloma virus does not stop at school age.

Since the vaccine continues to be effective even in old age, it is appropriate to recommend that every woman who comes for a cervical surface examination, also receive the first injection of the vaccine at the same time.

In addition, it is advisable to offer to vaccinate the partner as well, not only to reduce the transmission of the virus between the partners, but also since oral and pharyngeal cancer mainly affects men, and infection with the virus that causes the disease may also occur in old age.



Prof. Yaakov Bornstein is an expert in obstetrics and gynecology, colposcopy, and the chairman of the Israeli Society for the Research and Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Volunteer at the association "Madaat"

  • health

  • my health

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  • Papilloma

  • HPV

  • vaccinations

Source: walla

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