Catalonia will vaccinate children aged 11 and 12 against the human papillomavirus next year

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Catalonia will include vaccination against the human papillomavirus in children aged 11 to 12, who are in sixth grade,

the next school year 2022-2023, the Ministry of Health of the Generalitat reported in a statement this monday.

The department has promoted this measure with the aim of guaranteeing protection against infection by this virus in both boys and girls and, therefore,

.

The inclusion of this vaccine also for boys is a pioneering measure in Spain.

The Government has begun the process of purchasing HPV vaccines (9-valent) to incorporate children: in total it

to acquire 175,000 doses, of which

The human papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted disease that an estimated 85 to 90% of sexually active men and women will have at some point in their lives, according to Health.

Until now, the Catalan vaccination schedule

vaccination against this disease for girls aged 11 and 12 and for people with risk conditions.

According to Health, currently, the vaccines administered in Catalonia protect against 9 of the more than 100 existing HPV types and represent 90% protection against cervical cancer and 90% of anogenital warts.

Vaccination in girls aged 11-12 years began to be implemented in the 2007-08 academic year and caused a decrease of more than 60% in the incidence of anogenital warts in girls between 16 and 19 years of age, a decade later.

According to Salud, this vaccination has given indirect protection to boys and men, with a 4-6% reduction in genital warts and the reduction of certain genotypes, while it has also given indirect protection to unvaccinated girls and women.

In Catalonia, in 2021 the percentage of girls who were vaccinated during the 2020-21 academic year was 86%.

EU Funds

The European Commission encourages member states to expand HPV vaccination in boys and girls, proposing to support this initiative with specific funds within the

programme .

Vaccines in Catalonia are not mandatory, but it is recommended that all children and adults are vaccinated to avoid diseases or their complications.

Those included in the vaccination schedule are administered

In Catalonia, in a non-pandemic year, more than 3.2 million vaccines are administered to around 1,500,000 people in almost 1,000 vaccination centers, avoiding more than 33,000 cases of disease per year.

Health has recalled that the inclusion of HPV vaccination in boys at the same age as girls has already been carried out in other European countries such as Austria, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Norway, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland

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