vaccines against papillomaviruses for fifth grade students in Aube

After a first vaccination campaign against papillomaviruses in schools last year, students in 5^e of the 34 public and private colleges in Aube, are affected by the vaccine this fall.

Organized by the Grand Est Regional Health Agency and the academic region, this vaccination campaign, which concerns young people aged 11 to 14, aims to prevent up to 90% of HPV infections.

To prevent many cancers in adulthood

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) belong to a family of highly contagious viruses. 70 to 80% of men and women are infected with the papillomavirus at least once in their life. Often without even knowing it. However, these papillomavirus infections, which are transmitted through intimate relationships, can be responsible for numerous cancers, both in men and women (cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, penis, larynx).

In the Aube Department, 3,617 students can benefit from the vaccine, with the agreement of their parents. These vaccines are offered in colleges in order to reduce inequalities in the prevention of cancers linked to papillomaviruses, underlines the ARS. Fully covered by Health Insurance, vaccination is free for families and with no out-of-pocket costs.

First dose this fall, booster in spring

In the department, the operation is organized by the vaccination center of the Troyes hospital center, in partnership with educational establishments. Mobile teams of health professionals (doctors, nurses, midwives) visit the colleges concerned twice during the school year.

The first dose is administered between October and December 2024, with a booster planned between April and June 2025. The vaccination campaign in Aube began on Tuesday October 15.

Parents received a digital information kit on HPV vaccination and were invited to complete a parental authorization form online via the establishments’ Digital Work Space (ENT) before 1^is October 2024.

Less vaccinated boys

During the previous campaign, only 10% of 5th grade students^e in France had received the first dose of vaccine in December 2023 in colleges, far from the government’s objective of 30%. In the Grand Est Region, there were nearly 9,000. In September 2023, according to the ARS, 41% of girls and 29% of boys born in 2011 had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine in colleges.

In Aube, to date, 50.9% of young girls and 17.1% of young boys benefit from a complete vaccination schedule at the age of 16.

For parents of adolescents who are over 14 years old and who have not had the vaccine, you should know that it can still be administered, in three doses, until the age of 19.