At the beginning of February, provisional figures showed that only 10% of 5th grade students had received a first dose, far from the government’s target of 30% vaccinated.
A widespread campaign to try to catch up with the French delay. After a timid start last year, the vaccination of 5th grade students against the papillomavirus (HPV) will be renewed for the new school year, the Ministries of Health and Education announced on Wednesday, August 28. The product is intended to prevent infections with human papillomaviruses, sexually transmitted viruses responsible for more than 6,000 cancers each year – in particular those of the cervix, but also of the anus, mouth, and larynx.
During the first edition of this campaign last year, the government set itself the goal of vaccinating at least 30% of 5th grade middle school students. But in early February, provisional official figures showed that only 10% of them had received a first dose. The product is not new, however. In France, it has been recommended for girls aged 11 to 14 – with a catch-up between 15 and 19 – since 2007, and for boys since 2021.
But while the campaign struggled to take off in middle schools, vaccination coverage – taking into account vaccinations in private practices – increased by 17 points among girls and 15 points among 12-year-old boys between the start and end of the first phase targeting 5th grade students, according to Public Health France. In total, nearly 420,000 12-year-olds (48%) 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.
Awareness-raising work for parents
As in 2023, 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. Vaccination will be carried out by health professionals under the organization of the ARS (and not by health personnel from National Education).
The vaccination schedule consists of two doses, spaced at least five months apart. The complete two-dose vaccination can therefore be carried out either over a single school year or over two school years, depending on the organization chosen in the region. However, it requires the written agreement of both holders of parental authority, adds the ministry. 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 within a few days to reiterate the information message,” specifies the ministry.
“Caring” column
Last year, few private schools offered this vaccination. The association with sexuality, still taboo among young teenagers, as well as numerous controversies in the 2010s, did not help promote the vaccine. At the end of October 2023, the death of a middle school student near Nantes, who fell after experiencing post-vaccination discomfort, had once again fueled the reluctance of some patients, although an investigation showed that it was not linked to the product.
Asked about the subject on Tuesday, the resigning Minister of National Education, Nicole Belloubet, assured that private colleges “have committed to resuming this campaign if full responsibility for the organization comes from the ARS teams.” The government’s objective remains the same: to reach 80% of children vaccinated by 2030. In France, vaccination coverage in 2020 was 28%, almost three times lower than that of certain other Member States, such as Spain, the United Kingdom and Portugal, where it exceeded 70%.
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