In college, the vaccination campaign against papillomaviruses is a flop

It should make it possible to vaccinate at least 30% of 5th grade students against papillomaviruses, these viruses responsible for several cancers including cervical cancer. The vaccination campaign against HPV (for “human papillomavirus”), launched in September 2023, has not (yet) fulfilled its promises. The figures are indeed very disappointing: at the end of November, only 11% of students had received their first injection of Gardasil, three times less than the stated objective. And these data - the only ones available to date - are very fragmentary and possibly above reality: these are those communicated by the Health Agency of the Grand Est region, a territory which rather acts as a good student. “This region is ahead in terms of information on this campaign, it has been communicating about it for several years and it has implemented several programs,” underlines Professor Geoffroy Canlorbe, gynecologist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital (Paris ).

The objective of 30% of students in 5th grade vaccinated was, however, far from ambitious. “In 2023, there are more than 100 countries in the world that practice this vaccination in schools. In Europe, around twenty countries already do this. They all have vaccination coverage that exceeds 70%, and even reaches 90% for some,” reports Professor Canlorbe. The French delay in this area is considerable, even if vaccination coverage has doubled in ten years. The latest news is that only 48% of 15-year-olds have received at least one of the two doses provided for in the vaccination schedule. Among boys, this rate is only 13%. However, vaccination coverage must exceed 80% to get rid of these carcinogenic viruses. “We expected this vaccination campaign to start better, especially since the objectives set were quite moderate,” admitted Professor Canlorbe during a press conference organized on January 11 by the French Society of Colposcopy and of Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SFCPCV). “It’s a little disappointing but I’m confident we can do better.”

Among the reasons given to explain this difficult start, a certain administrative “heaviness” which weighs on families. “Both parents must have signed the authorization form to be vaccinated and the child must come with their health record,” explains the gynecologist. Which requires a little organization, especially for blended families. “There is no monitoring in colleges, the arrival of vaccination teams is punctual. If the child is not there on the big day or has forgotten his health record, he will not be vaccinated,” underlines Professor Xavier Carcopino, head of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Nord Hospital in Marseille. Families who want to have their children vaccinated can always make an appointment with their general practitioner to make up for this missed attempt.

But the main obstacle to the smooth running of the campaign is not just a matter of forgotten health records, as evidenced by the rate of authorizations signed by both parents. This varies in fact between 18% in the Indre department to 30% in Brittany. Parents who are in favor of vaccinating their child in principle are therefore not in the majority, unless they believe that they have already had this vaccination carried out by their attending physician.

Basically, the real problem is a lack of information among families, who do not always see the benefit of injecting yet another vaccine into their little ones. It must be said that the subject is complex. We are told about a vaccine supposed to protect against cervical cancer, but we still need to vaccinate boys... A funny idea? In reality, this helps protect girls by blocking the circulation of the virus, but also boys themselves, who can develop HPV-related cancers. In practice, a quarter of cases of cancer due to papillomaviruses concern men (ENT, anal and penile cancers).

Furthermore, in recent decades, numerous scientific controversies (now decided in favor of vaccines) have instilled doubt. We can cite the alleged link between the hepatitis B vaccine and multiple sclerosis, that between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, or even the theory of an alleged toxicity of aluminum, often used as an adjuvant... At the end of October, the death of a 12-year-old schoolboy, eight days after feeling unwell during a papillomavirus vaccination session in Saint-Herblain (Loire-Atlantique), launched a new controversy. This sad event, however, had nothing to do with the vaccine, as his autopsy revealed. The young person actually died “following head trauma following discomfort with loss of consciousness”, as the Medicines Safety Agency recalls. But this tragedy has undoubtedly damaged the confidence of many parents. Catholic Education even recommended that its establishments, which were not forced to participate in the campaign, suspend it.

However, proof of the effectiveness of vaccination against papillomaviruses no longer needs to be done. As a reminder, its objective is to protect against possible infection by these viruses, responsible for 6,300 new cases of cancer each year in France. In the United Kingdom, where vaccination coverage has been excellent for 15 years, a study showed a reduction in precancerous lesions on the cervix of 97% when vaccination is done between 12 and 13 years of age. In 2018, Australia had already announced the collapse of HPV virus infections among young women. Same observation in all countries which practice widespread vaccination of their young people. Without viruses in circulation, cancers also decrease. This is what a large Swedish study published in 2020 in The New England Journal of Medicine showed: cases of cervical cancer fell by almost 90% among all women vaccinated before the age of 17. . Australia is on the way to eradicating it.

Experts also reassure about the safety of the vaccine. “The safety profile of vaccines against HPV virus infections has been confirmed after more than fifteen years of use and more than 300 million doses administered worldwide, including more than 12 million in France,” states the Agency. safety of the medicine. “In 2020, a large Australian study, which followed the fate of 9 million doses of vaccines over eleven years, concluded that there were no more complications in the vaccinated group than in the unvaccinated” , notes Professor Geoffroy Canlorbe. However, there is a very low risk of feeling unwell or having an anaphylactic reaction, which is why people receiving the vaccine should be monitored for 15 minutes after the injection.