A vaccination campaigngeneralized“will be launched in colleges in France for 5th graders in order to better fight against the papillomavirus, responsible for more than 6,000 cases of cancer per year, announces President Emmanuel Macron.
“From the start of the next school year, for all 5th graders, we will generalize vaccination“said the Head of State during a meeting with students in a college in Jarnac. “This helps prevent many cancers. Many countries have done this“.
It will not be compulsory and parental consent will be required, said the Elysée.
From September 2023, “the prescription and vaccination against HPV (papillomavirus) can be carried out by pharmacists, midwives and nurses“, added Emmanuel Macron.
Asked about not making this vaccine compulsory, the Head of State said he preferred “a work of conviction“. More “the question will arise to know if at some point it will be made compulsory“, he added.
Extremely frequent, these infections are most of the time benign, but they can persist and lead to cancer: HPVs are responsible for 2900 cancers of the cervix causing more than 1000 deaths per year, 1500 cancers of the ENT sphere, 1500 cancers of the anus, 200 cancers of the vulva or vagina and a hundred cancers of the penis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these cancers can be completely eliminated through screening and vaccination.
At the end of 2021, 45.8% of 15-year-old girls had received a dose of vaccine, and only 6% of boys of the same age, while the ten-year cancer control strategy 2021-2030 aims for a target of 80% here seven years.