You need to be vaccinated against HPV!

Friday January 10, Valérie Thomas, principal of the Vivarais college in Lamastre, received Thierry Aumage, academic director of the National Education Services of Ardèche, Sylvaine Reynet, nurse and technical advisor to the academic director, Sabine Laffay, departmental director from the regional health agency (ARS), Anne Thevenet, ARS engineer, Béatrice Durand, from the CPAM (Primary Health Insurance Fund) of Ardèche, and François Payebien, sub-prefect, a visit which is part of the vaccination campaign against HPV (human papillomavirus), which began in the department’s schools on January 6.

Target 80% coverage

At the Vivarais college, 14 students, on a voluntary basis, chose to be vaccinated against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease responsible for more than 6,400 cancers per year in France (cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis, upper aerodigestive tract, oral cavity, oropharynx, tonsils), and whose vaccination prevents up to 90% of HPV infections in the origin of these cancers. And all the more so if this takes place before the first contaminating contacts, hence the recommendation of vaccination from the age of 11. In France, vaccination against HPV has been recommended in the vaccination schedule since 2006 for girls, and 2021 for boys. Despite the effectiveness of the vaccine and its very high safety profile (400 million doses distributed worldwide), vaccination coverage remains insufficient in France (55% for 15-year-old girls, and 26% for boys in 2023) . In a specially equipped room at the college, it was Doctor Georges Avril, a retired doctor from Aubenas, who carried out the vaccination of the volunteer students.

Led by the ARS and the three rectorates in the region, the vaccination campaign was entrusted to the vaccination center run by the Southern Ardèche hospital center, it is entirely covered by health insurance. Of the 39 colleges in Ardèche, 33 have scheduled a vaccination session, for more than 700 parental authorizations collected. Sabine Laffay specifies, “ Since the launch of this campaign in schools two years ago, there has been a significant increase in vaccination coverage, both among girls and boys. All audiences must be informed, and this allows children to think about their health “.