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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-05-16 07:00
Last update date: 2021-05-16 07:00
A recent survey showed that the HPV vaccination rate of boys in Hong Kong and the awareness of their parents are not as good as girls.
Since the launch of the HPV vaccine in Hong Kong in 2006, the society has gradually realized the importance of this vaccine, and the government has also begun to provide free vaccination for fifth grade girls in the 2019 school year.
Several groups then called on the government to give injections to different groups. The HPV Alliance recommended free injections for boys, and the DAB Women’s Affairs Committee recommended free cervix inoculations for all school-age girls and women aged 26 or below. Cancer vaccine.
This not only allows us to think about what factors should be considered in public health policies funded by government vaccines.
According to the research institute commissioned by the HPV Alliance, 90% of parents indicated that they would agree to or have vaccinated their daughters with HPV because they believe that cancer and venereal diseases can be prevented. At the same time, only 70% of the parents of boys know that men can be vaccinated against HPV. , And 60% of them have not been vaccinated for their sons.
This shows that although the HPV vaccine has been in Hong Kong for 15 years, the public still has a gender bias in its perception.
A similar study conducted by the University of Hong Kong in 2019 found that less than half of the local college students interviewed knew that the HPV vaccine was available to both men and women, and only 4.7% of the men had been vaccinated against HPV.
Girls in Primary Five and Primary Six can get HPV vaccine free of charge in the 2019/20 school year.
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Vaccination is not limited to women's needs
Facing the HPV virus, men are not safer than women, and they also need to be vaccinated.
HPV infection in men can also cause high-risk diseases such as oropharyngeal cancer and anal cancer. Data released by the National Health Service in 2107 showed that the HPV infection rate in men was 45.2%, which was higher than 39.9% in women.
Other medical studies have also found that the rate of males being able to produce antibodies on their own is lower than that of females, and the value does not exceed 10%, which is quite prone to repeated infection.
From the perspective of early intervention, women can still be prevented early through regular cervical screening, while men do not have exclusive inspection methods.
As more and more new medical data show that the gender difference of HPV virus is not great, more than 20 countries have no longer used gender as a condition for funding vaccination, but have promoted the inclusion of boys in free vaccination programs.
In addition, when deciding on the scope of funding for vaccination, the government should be more aware that the criteria for defining funding targets will affect the public's perception of this vaccine.
For example, as the current policy uses gender as the boundary of funding, it will inevitably make the public believe that women need the protection of this vaccine more, secretly spread the false message that men’s prevention of HPV is not too urgent, and may even deepen the health responsibilities of both sexes. The concept of women.
Earlier, doctors from different specialties formed the "HPV Concern Alliance", advocating that the prevention of cervical cancer and HPV should be started by schools, parents, and family doctors, emphasizing the importance of early vaccination against HPV.
Expensive price reduces the desire for vaccination
Another factor that affects the popularity of vaccines is the price. HPV vaccines are also expensive drugs. The preferential price for injections for Hong Kong college students is thousands of Hong Kong, and the price of the 9-in-one vaccine from the Family Planning Association is 5,400. It is obvious that not everyone in the grassroots family can afford the related expenses.
At the same time, in a survey conducted by the HPV Alliance, as many as 70% of boys’ parents said that if the free vaccination program is extended to boys, their sons will be allowed to participate.
From the perspective of public health and health equity, the government must reflect on whether HPV vaccination should be included in the health support for grassroots families, such as free or very low price for CSSA families.
Otherwise, without subsidies for economic inequality, the inequality in cancer incidence between the rich and the poor will only increase further.
When many groups in society are calling for expansion of the scope of HPV vaccination, the government undoubtedly needs to see where the current barriers to vaccination are.
From a gender perspective, since most publicity in the past was mainly based on women, the government’s current free vaccination is also divided by gender, making men less aware of vaccination; and from an economic perspective, due to the high price of HPV vaccines, even at preferential prices Not everyone can afford it. Many grassroots citizens look at the needle and sigh.
This is enough to remind the government to consider people's cognition and economic affordability in the promotion of vaccine popularization, and provide corresponding support, in order to truly do a good job in public health prevention.
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HPV vaccine HPV human papillomavirus HPV infection prevention HPV infection 01 point of view
