“We need a reform of the HPV vaccination program now. We can no longer miss the chance to protect our children from a mutilating and even deadly cancer, but which we can prevent by vaccination at the right time! And the right time is now, not later. We can no longer wait for political games, we no longer have to wait for cumbersome bureaucratic procedures. We are only asking for what the European Commission has indicated in the European Plan to Combat Cancer that it is our children’s right: to be protected against this cancer-causing infection. Our association welcomed the Ministry with concrete, realistic and quickly achievable proposals since the spring, and the Ministry responded positively, with the promise that we will be able to vaccinate our adolescents against HPV in greater numbers, faster and easier. The Mothers for Mothers Association and the tens of thousands of parents they represent are waiting for this promise to be honored this summer, from changing the technical rules of the program to allocating the money needed for the doses that will protect our children, “he says. Ana Măiţă, according to hotnews.ro.
The expansion of the HPV vaccination program is also supported by the Romanian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which organized a week ago the VI National Conference of the Romanian HPV Society.
“We, as gynecologists, are the specialists who have the sad mission to give one of the hardest news to a woman: the diagnosis of cervical cancer. And this news is even worse when we know that the type of cancer that will put the patient to the test and even in danger of death is a cancer that could have been prevented by vaccination. Obviously, we fight with all medical weapons alongside the patient to save her reproductive function, especially if she is a young patient – and many of the patients with cervical cancer caused by HPV infection are women in their prime – and often we do not. we even fight to save his life. We would rather not have to get here since there has been a safe and effective vaccine for years that prevents the risk of this cancer. So we reiterate, together with the associations for the health of women and children, that the main mission of the doctor, of the Ministry that shepherds us, is to prevent the disease as many times as it can. I remind you: cervical cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 18 and 45. Cervical cancer mortality in our country is 20 times higher than in Iceland and 4 times higher than the EU average. Beyond these figures, however, we are talking about a mutilating disease and a lot of suffering. A disease that can still be prevented by vaccination and regular screening. For this reason, we support the extension of the HPV vaccination program so that all adolescents have easy and uninterrupted access to this vaccine “, said Prof. Dr. Radu Vlădăreanu, President of the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
HPV infection, the most widespread sexually transmitted viral infection in the world
HPV infection – Human Papilloma Virus – is the most common and widespread sexually transmitted viral infection. It is estimated that approximately 80% of men and women will become infected with HPV at some stage in their lives.
Of the more than 100 known strains of HPV, 14 cause cancer and are considered “high risk.” Although most HPV infections heal on their own, persistent infections with this virus can lead to precancerous lesions that, if left untreated, can progress to cancer.
HPV vaccination is recommended in both girls and boys in preadolescence, before sexual intercourse and exposure to the HPV virus.
In Romania, the HPV virus is responsible annually for 3,380 new cases of cervical cancer and 500 cases of other cancers, causing over 1,800 deaths.
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