This is excellent news in the fight against cancer of the cervix: while traveling to a college in Jarnac (Charente), Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday the launch from the start of the next school year of a vast free vaccination campaign against the human papillomavirus (or HPV), for all fifth graders, girls and boys.
“
It will not be compulsory, it is the parents who will decide
”,
reassured the Head of State.
This measure will enable 800,000 students per year to be protected against HPV-related cancers.
The latter is responsible for 30,000 precancerous lesions of the cervix and 6,000 new cases of cancer in women and men each year.
These are mainly cancers of the cervix (2,900 cancers which cause more than 1,000 deaths per year), but also of the anus, the ENT sphere, the vulva, the vagina, or even the penis. .
However, there is an extremely simple and effective way to protect yourself: vaccination.
Read alsoWhy have your boy vaccinated against the papillomavirus?
Accompanied by the Ministers of Health and Education, François Braun and Pap Ndiaye, the President of the Republic spoke with college students who had attended an awareness session on vaccination against the papillomavirus.
An exchange that raised many questions and demonstrated a great need for information and education.
"
Vaccination remains one of the most effective means of prevention, there should be no qualms,"
said the Head of State.
We have hindsight, we know that the anti-HPV vaccine is effective and that it is harmless.
»
Thanks to vaccination, some countries are even on the way to overcoming these cancers.
This is the case of Australia where, thanks to vaccination, the rate of people infected with HPV causing cancer of the cervix fell from 22.7% in 2005-2007 to 1, 5% in 2015 among young women aged 18-24.
And the country could even succeed in eradicating cervical cancer within fifteen years.
In France, vaccination has been recommended for girls since 2007 and since January 1, 2021 for boys.
It is recommended between the ages of 11 and 14 with a two-dose vaccine schedule (six months between the two doses).
Why vaccinate so early against this sexually transmitted virus?
Because it is then more effective: when it is carried out before the start of sexual life, the protection conferred by the vaccine is close to 100%.
For those who missed the boat, a catch-up between 15 and 19 years old is possible, with the injection of three doses.
For young people too old to benefit from the vaccination campaign in fifth grade, the Head of State promised
"
facilitated and less expensive access to vaccination
"
.
The vaccine can now be administered to them, not only by the attending physician, but also by pharmacists, midwives and nurses, and the remaining costs will be reduced.
Read alsoPapillomavirus: 7 reasons to vaccinate boys too
Four days before World Papillomavirus Disease Awareness Day, France is therefore engaged in the battle for prevention against HPV.
There is urgency because France is very late.
Today, the vaccination coverage rate remains low, with only 37% of girls vaccinated, and an even lower rate (9%) for boys.
“
France has one of the lowest vaccination coverages in Europe ,
”
says Sophie Vaux, program coordinator for monitoring vaccination coverage at Public Health France.
“
It remains well below the objectives of the 2014-2019 cancer plan which set the coverage target at 60
%, or the latest cancer plan (2021-2030) which aims for coverage of 80
% in 2030 ,
”
she continues.
Read alsoGardasil vaccine: the investigation closed without further action
This delay is due to several reasons.
On the one hand, the cost of the vaccine, between 95 euros and 116 euros.
If it is reimbursed at 65% by Medicare and the remaining part is covered by mutual insurance, the advance of costs or the absence of mutual insurance can slow down.
On the other hand, vaccination against HPV infections is called “opportunistic” in the sense that it is the teenager or his parents who make an appointment with the doctor for vaccination.
Hence the desire to generalize a campaign at school.
A school experiment conducted in the Grand Est for two years has shown good results among young people in fifth grade: the vaccination rate rose from 9% to 27% the first year and from 14% to 31% the second.
Read alsoShould we be afraid of Gardasil?
Finally, there is still a certain distrust of vaccination in France.
The Covid crisis has clearly illustrated this, with the existence of a particularly hostile “antivax” fringe.
A complaint filed in France at the end of 2013 against Gardasil accused (wrongly) Sanofi Pasteur MSD's anti-HPV vaccine of being linked to the occurrence of multiple sclerosis, lupus, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the central nervous system ) and macrophagic myofasciitis (a disease that results in muscle pain and chronic fatigue).
But the investigation was dismissed and the ANSM assured that HPV vaccines do not lead to
"
an increase in the overall risk of the onset of autoimmune diseases
"
.
It noted an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome, but in limited proportions, 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 vaccinated girls.
Rare cases that absolutely do not call into question the risk-benefit balance of vaccination.
