Vaccination session
Credit : Vaccination session
They wait their turn, a little stressed, on their chair installed in the corridor of Saint-Joseph college in Mordelles, in the metropolis of Rennes. High schools are getting vaccinated against the papillomavirus this week. At the exit, there were those who panicked a little and those who ultimately felt nothing. This year again, the vaccination campaign is aimed at 5th grade students, it is at this age that the vaccine is most effective. Vaccinating yourself against the papillomavirus when you are young prevents you from developing certain cancers in adulthood, such as that of the throat and uterus.
Papillomaviruses cause 6,000 cancers per year
Paul is convinced, “it protects against diseases, whether you’re a girl or a guy.”
Also convinced, David Le Goff, Departmental Director of ARS Bretagne in Ille-et-Vilaine : “the objective is to massively increase the vaccination coverage rate against papillomaviruses, which are the cause of 6,000 cancers per year, including 1,100 deaths from cervical cancer each year while These are preventable diseases… If we managed to cover 80% of the French population with vaccines against the papillomavirus, we would succeed in eradicating these diseases: 6,000 cancers would be avoidable.“
It is currently estimated that less than 25% of Breton children are vaccinated compared to 28% nationally. It must be said that this vaccine is experiencing some reluctance, points out David Le Goff. “We may have reluctance due to ignorance, it is not necessarily a vaccine that is extremely well known, we have every interest in making it known and reporting on its benefit in terms of public health.
We also have an interest in raising awareness among the male population.
The papillomavirus is a disease which is not that well known in France today and whose effects can be very late compared to an infection. The infection may have gone completely unnoticed and may trigger effects 10 or 20 years later. Furthermore, there is little awareness of the fact that boys are also affected, can transmit the disease and can themselves develop cancers linked to the papillomavirus. We also have an interest in raising awareness among the male population.”
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