There is insufficient interest among young people between 19 and 26 years old to get a free vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that can lead to (a pre-stage of) cancer in 10 to 20 percent of cases. Only 16 percent of young women and 22 percent of young men get the shot, while according to PvdA councilor Richard Moti, there is a group of women who fall just outside the age limit and would like this vaccination. Moreover, they now pay 400 euros for it.
Moti therefore wants to quickly calculate how many vaccines the GGD Rotterdam will have left after the end of the campaign (mid-2024) if it continues at this slow pace. After all, a quick answer could mean that the above-mentioned group of women can also be vaccinated faster and free of charge. At least if healthcare councilor Buijt is prepared to advocate the Rotterdam PvdA’s proposal to the minister.
A petition has already been started to expand the age limit for a free vaccine to 30 years, but the Ministry of Health has indicated that it will not respond to this. The reason? Moti: ”Above the age of 26 it would be questionable whether the vaccine is still effective. The older you are, the greater the chance that you have already been infected with HPV. But there are also studies that show that the vaccination is indeed effective above this age limit. If expanding the target group for the free vaccine is likely to lead to fewer HPV infections, our group wonders why this option is not further investigated.”
2023-10-12 15:14:35
#PvdA #Rotterdam #increase #age #limit #HPV #injection
