The first shots are put in mid-February. Here’s what you need to know about the HPV vaccine, a vaccine with a decade of experience, but still a lower turnout than other childhood vaccines.
1. What is HPV?
That stands for the human papilloma virus. You don’t notice it if you are infected with it, but the virus can develop into cancer. There are over a hundred different types of HPV, including high-risk variants of cancer. HPV types 16 and 18 are the most dangerous, together they cause about 70 percent of all cervical cancers and the majority of other HPV cancers.
In the Netherlands, about 800 women get cervical cancer every year and more than 200 women die from it. The disease is remarkably common in younger women. Because of that risk, women between the ages of 30 and 60 are invited to have a Pap smear every five years. Every year in 5000 women a preliminary stage of this cancer is found that needs to be treated. During the treatment, part of the cervix is removed. This way, cervical cancer can be prevented.
2. Is HPV Rare?
Anything but. About 80 to 90 percent of people contract it once or more in their lifetime. Usually the immune system clears the virus again, but in 10 to 20 percent of cases this does not happen. The virus can be transmitted through any sexual contact, including skin to skin, even when using a condom. It is therefore different from an STI, almost everyone gets it. Boys and men also become infected with the HPV virus and pass it on.
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3. Why has the age for vaccination been lowered to 10 years?
Because the vaccine works best before someone comes into contact with the virus, the vaccination age is reduced from 13 to 10 years. This maximizes the effect of the vaccination.
Previously, girls as young as 13 were invited for the HPV vaccination to make sure they were protected long enough. We now know from studies that the vaccination protects for a long time and the injection can be given earlier, explains a spokesperson for the RIVM.
HPV viruses are mainly found on the skin and mucous membranes around the genitals and in the mouth and throat, so that it is also easily passed through the hands, fingers and mouth during sex.
4. Why would my son get that shot?
It is not only women who get cancer from the HPV virus. Every year in the Netherlands, almost 400 men get cancer from HPV. About 80 percent of this can be prevented with the HPV vaccination, says the RIVM. It concerns cancer of the anus, penis, and the mouth and pharynx.
Oscar Brouwer, urologist at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, specializes in rare forms of cancer: “More and more young men are diagnosed with penile cancer. Sometimes a (partial) penile amputation is necessary to save a life. That obviously has a major impact on someone’s life. I often speak to patients who would like to travel back in time for a vaccination, but unfortunately it is too late for them.”
Gynecologist-oncologist Luc van Lonkhuijzen of Amsterdam UMC would also like to emphasize that the vaccination of boys contributes to the protection of the entire population through herd immunity. “Vaccinating boys not only benefits themselves, you also do it out of solidarity with women who can become seriously ill.”
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5. Is the vaccine safe?
There is now a lot of experience with the vaccine in the Netherlands and abroad. It has been given for over ten years. There are no known serious side effectsSeveral large studies have been done on this.
Last year, 63 percent of 13-year-old girls were vaccinated against HPV. That is very low compared to other childhood vaccinations from the National Immunization Programme. Negative (and inaccurate) stories about side effects could be related to that. Although the association with sex can also play a role, that sometimes makes it difficult for the elderly and children to talk about the vaccination.
6. How well does the vaccine work?
The vaccine against cervical cancer reduces disease by 90 percent, according to preliminary studies from Great Britain. That is to say: if 10 people develop cervical cancer without vaccination, that would only be 1 person with vaccination. According to researchers, the results are ‘historic’. The vaccine is given in the UK to girls between the ages of 11 and 13, and since 2019 boys can also get it.
The British study focused on what happened to girls after the vaccine was introduced in 2008. Those girls are now in their 20s and the reduction in cervical cancer has been significant.
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