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Recommended from the age of nine: vaccination against HPV
Photo: Stefan Puchner / dpa
The chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has spoken out in favor of a stronger role for schools in order to increase the number of vaccinations against cancer-causing HPV infections. The tolerability of the vaccines is “excellent” and the vaccination itself is “highly effective”, so there is generally nothing to speak against it, said virologist Klaus Überla to the Funke newspapers. “In order to increase the vaccination rate, we should take new approaches.”
Higher vaccination rates through school vaccination
In other countries it is clear that “the best vaccination rates can be achieved through school vaccinations,” said Überla. Therefore, vaccinations should also be offered in schools in this country. “That would be a good way to increase the rate and thus save lives in the long term.” The virologist also thinks it makes sense to provide more information in schools about the development of tumors and the effectiveness of vaccinations.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, HPV infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Human papilloma viruses (HPV) can cause cancer, such as cervical cancer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU are pursuing the goal of achieving a vaccination rate of at least 90 percent for 15-year-old girls and a significant increase for 15-year-old boys by 2030. Currently, only 54 percent of 15-year-old girls and 27 percent of boys of the same age in Germany are fully vaccinated against HPV.
jpa/AFP