Thousands of young people in Groningen and Drenthe will receive a vaccine against the HPV virus, which can cause cancer, from Wednesday. Two-thirds are men, while the shot was previously only for women.
The virus can cause cervical cancer, but also cancer of the penis and anus, as has recently become known. About 150 young men are diagnosed with penile cancer each year. You can contract the virus through sexual contact. Initially, only girls from the age of ten were invited to take the vaccine, but now that it is clear that boys can also become ill from the virus, a catch-up campaign is underway among boys. Girls will again receive an invitation to get vaccinated, if they have not already done so.
Six types of cancer
Friends Daan Hooiveld (24) from Odoornerveen and Steven van der Struik (26) from Kibbelveen let themselves be pricked. They didn’t hesitate for a moment. Hooiveld started to study the virus after he saw the television advertisement: ‘one vaccine protects against six types of cancer.’ He was startled. Hooiveld did not know that the virus can also be harmful to men. He therefore sees the vaccination as a necessity. Otherwise, you may be screwed later on, says Hooiveld. “I’d rather minimize the chance than take a gamble.”
Van der Struik agrees. He has already experienced the life-threatening disease up close. His grandfather died of cancer and his mother had a tumor on the left side of her lung. She has now recovered. “It runs in the family.” He therefore prefers to be on the safe side. “An injection can do no harm, especially if I reduce the risk of cancer. ”
GGD Drenthe and Groningen (on behalf of RIVM) already started a publicity campaign in mid-January to call on young people to get the HPV vaccine. “That went through posters, YouTube commercials, radio commercials, videos and invitation and information letters,” says Lily Benjamin of GGD Groningen. “On the website of the national vaccination program there are videos in which young people talk to a general practitioner, a former patient with HPV cancer, a urologist and gynecologist about an HPV vaccination.”
Social media
To reach the young adults, the campaign is very focused on the social media platforms that young people use. There is a GGD Groningen Instagram that is aimed at Groningen students and the campaign has also been shared on the radio station FunX, a public channel that focuses on young people between the ages of 15 and 35. But the young adults were also approached via dating app Happ’n.
Most girls receive an invitation letter from the age of 10. Since 2022, boys can also get the shot. Several thousand agreements have now been made in Groningen. GGD Drenthe has now scheduled around twelve hundred HPV appointments in the first week, says Alexandra van Schubert, spokesperson for GGD Drenthe. This is only the start of the catch-up campaign, says van Schubert. The invitation letters can still fall on the doormat until mid-February. Hooiveld has yet to receive his letter of invitation.
Jeroen (26) from Groningen has scheduled his first HPV appointment on February 3. After reading the letter, it was not a difficult choice for him. “Reduce the risk of cancer by taking two free vaccinations.”
Unfounded stories
In 2009, the very first campaign for the HPV vaccine for girls between the ages of 13 and 16 started. Many unfounded stories were doing the rounds at the time: ‘the shot can make you seriously ill’, ‘in other countries girls have died from the vaccination’, ‘you can’t have children after the vaccination’. The Dutch Association Critical Stinging was one of the causes of this anti-campaign. Partly because of these stories, 40 percent of girls between the ages of 12 and 16 did not get vaccinated against HPV, according to figures from RIVM.
A 26-year-old woman from Groningen, who wishes to remain anonymous, is still unsure about taking a vaccination. At the age of twelve, she did not take any vaccination at the time, because possible side effects of the vaccine were not yet clear to her. “The doctor also advised my parents to wait a while.” Fourteen years later, she is still in doubt. She needs to learn more about the vaccine before making a decision. “Is it still effective now that I’m older?”
Yes, Benjamin replies. The vaccine is most effective if you haven’t been sexually active yet, she says. But research by the health council shows that the vaccine for young adults still reduces the risk of HPV cancers.
