Cancer prevention

Papillomavirus: widespread vaccination extended to the 2024 school year for 5th grade students

Publié le 18 septembre 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

A second mass vaccination campaign was launched for pupils aged 5e to better fight against the papillomavirus. Vaccination is available to all schoolchildren, girls and boys, starting at the 5-child levele.

Starting the 2024 school year, middle school students of 5e can be vaccinated free of charge to provide better protection against human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers. In 2023, vaccination was offered for the first time free of charge in colleges. On this occasion, more than 100,000 students of 5e have been vaccinated, according to estimates by Santé publique France.

The aim of these annual campaigns is to increase vaccination coverage and prevent infection, which causes 6,000 new cases of cancer and 30,000 pre-cancerous cervical lesions each year.

Please note

Vaccination is not mandatory. One written agreement of the two holders of parental authority is necessary.

To accompany, inform and answer questions, the National Cancer Institute makes available parents and students to multiple media, such as:

The vaccine against human papillomavirus infections: for whom?

HPV vaccination is not among the 11 mandatory vaccinations but is strongly recommended for:

  • all girls and boys aged 11 to 14 (the vaccine is most effective because girls and boys have not yet been exposed to HPV infection);
  • persons aged 15 to 19 years and over who have not yet been vaccinated;
  • Men who have sex with men (MSM), up to and including 26 years of age, to prevent anal precancerous lesions, anal cancers, and warts (small warts).

FYI  

The human papillomavirus vaccine regimen consists of 2 doses at least 5 months apart, for girls and boys aged 11 to 14 years.

In catch-up, 15 to 19 years of age, the vaccination schedule is 3 doses.

Warning  

The existence of HPV-protective vaccines does not exempt women from routine HPV screening cervical cancer by smear every 3 years between ages 25 and 65, whether or not they are vaccinated against human papillomaviruses.

What is human papillomavirus?

Human papillomaviruses are very common viruses, there are more than 150 types. They can infect the skin and mucous membranes and cause benign or malignant lesions. Transmission is almost exclusively through sexual contact.

Most HPV infections do not cause damage:

  • in 90% of cases, the infection is transient and resolves naturally within one to two years after sexual contamination
  • in 10% of people, the infection persists and can cause abnormalities (lesions) in the lining of the cervix. These lesions may progress to cancer 10 to 15 years after infection with the virus.

FYI  

Condoms do not provide adequate protection against HPV infection because they do not cover the entire genital area. Only vaccination of girls and boys protects against HPV.

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