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The NHS will extend the HPV vaccination program to all boys in grade 8 in England from September, protecting them and girls from various types of cancer.
According to Public Health England, the program may have prevented more than 100,000 cancers throughout the United Kingdom as of 2058, the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of the HPV vaccine in Canada. girls.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of most cervical cancer in women. As the virus is badually transmitted, vaccinating boys will help protect their partners, but reducing the circulation of the virus, which is linked to 5% of cancers, will also help prevent penile, anus, and other cancers. and bads, as well as some cancers of the head and neck. .
There has been a long vaccination campaign for boys and girls around the age of 12, and Scotland and Wales have already announced its introduction. Professor Beate Kampmann, Director of the Immunization Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, described the decision as "a triumph for gender equality in cancer prevention.
"It's nice to see the UK follow the example of other countries like Australia, where the vaccine has been applied for girls since 2007 and for boys in 2013. That has allowed the HPV rate among women aged 18 to 24 to go from 22% to 1% between 2005 and 2015. This success speaks for itself. We now have the tools to eradicate most HPV-badociated cancers in men and women. "
Robert Music, executive director of the Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, named in honor of Jo Maxwell, who died of the disease 20 years ago at the age of 40, said that this decision constituted "a huge step forward "for the prevention of all cancers caused by the virus.
"HPV does not discriminate, it can affect everyone, but there are many harmful myths and stigmas around it. That's why a universal immunization program is so important, because not only will it normalize this very common virus and reduce existing inequities, but it will protect more people from cancer and save lives, "he said. he declares.
It was important that the use of the vaccine remains high, he said. HPV vaccination programs have struggled in some countries against stigmatization – because of badual transmission – and alarmist stories. Japan has suspended vaccination because of fears of pain and fatigue among teenagers, which has been reviewed by the European Medicines Agency and has been ruled out.
The University of Warwick has carried out modeling to establish the likely impact in 50 years, when the vaccinated people will have reached the age group where cancer is most prevalent. He predicts that 64,138 HPV-related cervical cancers and 49,649 other HPV-related cancers will be prevented.
Recent data suggests that HPV infections could be eliminated in rich countries in a few decades. Data published by Canadian researchers in the Lancet show an 83% reduction in infections among girls aged 15 to 19 over a five to eight year period. The World Health Organization's goal is to reduce the number of cervical cancer cases to no more than four per 100,000 population, which is below the threshold for a rare disease.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, Vaccination Officer at Public Health England, encouraged parents to accept the boys' vaccination offer. "This universal program gives us the opportunity to make HPV-related illnesses in the past and build on the success of the girls' program," she said.
The Minister of Public Health, Seema Kennedy, encouraged all eligible people to be vaccinated. "Thanks to our state-of-the-art immunization program, we have already saved millions of lives and avoided countless cases of terrible diseases. Experts predict that we may be permanently eliminating cervical cancer, "she said.
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