As of today, boys from the age of 9 can also be vaccinated against HPV cancer. Previously, only girls received a vaccine because the virus can cause cervical cancer. Older children who have not yet had an injection will also receive an invitation.
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HPV, human papillomavirus in full, can cause various types of cancer. Now that more is known about which cancers these are, it has been decided to vaccinate boys as well. Penile cancer, for example, is one of the types that the virus can carry.
The new vaccination program was kicked off today in Amsterdam-North. Young people could be vaccinated there in the Kromhouthal. “I actually didn’t know what this vaccination was for,” a boy answers when asked if he is happy with his shot. “But I was asked to come here, so I thought, fine.”
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“Always better than the disease you can prevent”
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“Anything that you can be vaccinated against, you just have to do,” says his mother. “Always better than the disease you can prevent with that.” The father of another boy also thinks it’s worth it: “We are used to something, we have experienced a lot of shots.”
start young
“I really call on everyone who has received a call from the RIVM to heed it,” said Alderman for Youth Care Simone Kukenheim. The municipality of Amsterdam decided to start vaccinating one year earlier than the rest of the country. “We have done research and we know that vaccination rates are higher in younger children,” explains Kukenheim. “We think it’s important that children are vaccinated against serious diseases, which is why we offer it at a younger age.”
In March, six locations in Amsterdam will be vaccinated against the virus.
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