The vaccination of 5th grade students against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which had a sluggish start last year, will be renewed for the new school year, the Ministries of Health and Education told AFP on Wednesday.
Last year, during the first edition of this vaccination campaign against papillomaviruses which cause many cancers (cervical, vulvar, vaginal, ENT, anus, etc.), the Ministry of Health set itself the objective of vaccinating at least 30% of pupils from 5th grade to middle school.
Provisional official figures at the beginning of February showed that only 10% of 5th grade students had received a first dose.
But taking into account vaccinations in private practices, vaccination coverage increased by 17 points among girls and 15 points among 12-year-old boys, between the start and the end of the first phase targeting 5th grade students, according to Public Health France.
Nearly 420,000 12-year-olds (48%) have received a first dose of vaccine.
“Given these encouraging initial results, the vaccination campaign will be repeated this year,” said the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
Vaccination will once again be offered free of charge to all students entering 5th grade at the start of the school year.
The Regional Health Authorities (ARS) and rectorates will be responsible for organizing the campaign, the ministry specifies.
The vaccination schedule consists of two doses spaced at least five months apart. The complete two-dose vaccination can be carried out either over a single school year or over two school years, depending on the organization chosen in the region.
Vaccination will be carried out by health professionals under the organization of the ARS (and not by health personnel from National Education).
It requires the written agreement of both holders of parental authority, the ministry also indicates. To raise awareness among parents, messages were sent to them at the end of the past school year. “A second letter will be sent to them in a few days to reiterate the information message,” the ministry specifies.
Last year, few private colleges offered this vaccination.
The campaign may have been affected by the death of a middle school student near Nantes, who suffered a fall after experiencing post-vaccination discomfort.
Questioned on the subject on Tuesday, the resigning Minister of National Education Nicole Belloubet assured that private colleges “are committed to resuming this campaign if full responsibility for the organization comes from the ARS teams.”
The government’s goal is still to reach 80% of children vaccinated by 2030.
