As of 2023, the vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) will be financed by Social Security for 12-year-old children, since until now it was limited to girls, as announced by the Public Health Commission, which has also decided to extend the childhood vaccination schedule to include the flu vaccine for babies and children between 6 months and 5 years of age in the 2023/2024 campaign.
Next year, therefore, the HPV vaccine will begin to be administered to 12-year-old boys, and it will consist of a two-dose schedule with a minimum interval of six months. The Ministry of Health has issued a statement indicating that the autonomous communities will have to incorporate them before 2024, although three autonomies, Galicia, the Valencian Community, and Catalonia, had already incorporated this vaccine for this autumn, thus had anticipated the decision of the commission and had reported that they would incorporate it in 2023.
The HPV vaccine prevents various types of cancer
The human papillomavirus vaccine prevents diseases caused by certain types of viruses associated with the development of cancer, such as 6 and 18 – the main risk factors for cervical cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 and 2, and adenocarcinoma on-site. In addition to preventing these diseases, the vaccine helps stop the spread of this pathogen during sexual intercourse.
The results of different scientific studies, such as one published in The Lancet in November 2021, have shown that the administration of the vaccine reduces the appearance of tumors by up to 87% in women. The risk of developing cancer also exists in men, although in their case it is lower, and those that are most frequently related to HPV are cancer of the anus, penis and mouth.
This vaccine was already financed by the National Health System for girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who were not vaccinated or partially vaccinated, and those over 15 years of age received three doses of the drug. Its administration is also indicated for people at risk, regardless of their sex, such as patients with WHIM syndrome or HIV infection, men who have sex with men, people in a situation of prostitution —in these last three cases up to 26 years old—, and women who have had cervix (neck of the womb) surgery.
Some communities had anticipated the decision of Public Health
In May, Catalonia became the first community to announce that it would begin to finance the HPV vaccine from this course also for boys, although it was Galicia that began to do so on September 15, which was joined by the Valencian Community October 1st.
This week Andalusia has also reported that in January 2023 it will be incorporated into the childhood vaccination schedule, as confirmed by the President of the Board, Juanma Moreno, as well as that of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, during the 2022 State of the Region Debate.
Madrid has advanced the acquisition of 160,000 more vaccines against HPV for 12-year-old children, pending the update of the common vaccination calendar of the National Health System (SNS) by the Ministry of Health, and Murcia will allocate 468,000 euros to purchase doses for next year.
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