By Raffaela Lindorfer
03/02/2024
The free offer up to 21 has existed for a year, and 80,000 doses of vaccines were administered in 2023.
A year ago, the government raised the age limit for free HPV vaccination to 21. Claudia Plakolmwho is committed to the issue as state secretary for youth and as president of the Young ÖVP, draws a positive conclusion in the interview with KURIER.
The number of vaccinations among young people aged 12 to 21 has increased sixfold, she says. Previously there were around 100 HPV vaccinations per month, now there are around 600 per month. In total, around 80 thousand doses of vaccines were administered between February and December 2023.
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Plakolm now wants a “single recovery campaign for people under 30” in order to protect more young people from cancer at all levels, as she puts it. There are already discussions with the Minister of Health.
HPV is not just a women's problem
The Secretary of State emphasizes: “Everyone who knows about and takes advantage of the offer is a great help in defeating cervical cancer”. It is aimed at everyone – girls and boys, women and men. Cervical cancer is not the only type of cancer that can be caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).
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The infection can also cause tumors in the head and neck or male genitals.
Because this fact is not yet sufficiently known – especially among men – the Young ÖVP launched a campaign on the eve of World HPV Day, next Monday (March 4): for example, a profile was created on the dating platform Tinder and sent out invitations to an “HPV protection date” on Valentine’s Day.
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Vaccination against HPV is included in the childhood vaccination program and has only been free for those under 21 since February 2023. Otherwise, the protection, which consists of two partial vaccinations, costs a total of around 620 euros; In some countries there are cheaper rates.
The vaccination rate for Austria is not known. According to the WHO, the virus could be 90% eradicated.