The vaccination campaign against HPV is slowly gaining steam. This year, people between the ages of 19 and 26 can get vaccinated against the virus free of charge, but only 10 percent of that target group have done so. The Amsterdam GGD will try to increase the vaccination rate with mobile vaccination teams and targeted campaigns.
video-caption">This year, people between the ages of 19 and 26 can get vaccinated against HPV for free – NH News
Cervical cancer affects about 900 women each year. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to treat. Ten years ago it happened to Kim Hulscher (50). She is now cured, she says at an information market in the Amsterdam UMC. “But I suffer a lot from the consequences of the treatments.” Because Hulscher’s lymph nodes have been removed, her right leg is quite swollen. That always needs compression.” She also has intestinal complaints, bladder complaints, she often suffers from fatigue and sometimes finds it difficult to find words.
Since then, Hulscher has been committed to the Olive Foundation for women who get cancer in and around the genitals. More than 4,800 women are diagnosed each year. “I’m 50 now, in my time you didn’t have the HPV vaccine yet. If I had, the chance that I would have contracted cervical cancer would have been a lot smaller.”
Vaccination campaign
It is therefore a good thing, says Hulscher, that people between the ages of 19 and 26 can get vaccinated against HPV for free this year. Eighty percent of people contract the virus at least once. Usually not a disaster, says gynecologist and oncologist Luc van Lonkhuijzen. “But we know that the virus increases the risk of several types of cancer.” In addition to cervical cancer, this includes cancer in the penis, anus and pharynx, for example.
How do you get HPV?
HPV is transmitted through physical contact.
- Via the hands and the skin, for example when shaking hands.
- Through the mouth, for example during kissing.
- With sexual contact.
HPV is very contagious, but in most cases it is cleared by the body. So not everyone who gets the virus will get sick.
This year’s vaccination campaign is probably not yet fully publicized: in the Netherlands as a whole, only 10.2 percent of the target group has registered for the first of the two injections. In Amsterdam, that percentage is barely higher.
Mobile prick team
The GGD Amsterdam, responsible for the implementation of the campaign, will therefore work more specifically in the coming period. In the Amsterdam UMC, students, employees and visitors can come and get a free vaccine from a mobile vaccination team.
Hosni Abderrahim didn’t have to think long about it. “It’s also good that it’s free,” says the medical student. “I think even a low price can make people think: I’ll have a look at it later.”
Jesse Brinkman also studies medicine and notices that peers outside his studies have not really picked up on the campaign. “It’s not much about it. Perhaps because among men, HPV is mainly linked to cervical cancer.” He just got his shot himself. “Reducing the risk of cancer is relevant for everyone.”
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