The Department of Health is administering nearly 86,000 doses of the HPV vaccine to children ages 12 and older.

VALENCIA (EP). In 2023, the Ministry of Health administered approximately 86,000 doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to minors aged twelve years and over in the Valencian Community. Specifically, last year, a total of 47,004 minors received their first dose of the vaccine at age twelve, and another 38,573 received their second dose of the HPV vaccine.

These data were provided by the General Directorate of Public Health on the occasion of the celebration this Monday, March 4, of the International Day of Awareness of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the Generalitat reports.

By gender, of the minors who received the first dose of the HPV vaccine, 22,965 were boys and 24,039 were girls, representing 78% of men and 87% of women of this age in the Valencian Community. In turn, 17,794 boys and 20,779 girls were immunized with the second dose, that is, 60% of men and 75% of women of this age.

By province, in Castellón, 5,509 children under 12 years of age received the first dose of the vaccine (2,632 boys and 2,877 girls) and 4,524 young people were immunized with the second dose (2,043 boys and 2,481 girls).

In Alicante, a total of 16,390 twelve-year-old boys and girls (7,876 boys and 8,514 girls) received the first dose, and 13,222 adolescents (5,986 boys and 7,236 girls) received the second dose. In Valencia, meanwhile, a total of 25,105 young people (12,457 boys and 12,648 girls) received the first dose, while 20,827 adolescents (9,765 boys and 11,062 girls) received the second dose.

Vaccination in risk groups

In addition to the vaccination of children under 12 years of age, over the past year more than 11,000 doses were administered to people at risk who are eligible for vaccination (4,213 doses in Alicante, 1,287 doses in Castellon and 5,861 doses in Valencia). .

Practices and risk groups eligible for vaccination include men who have sex with men (1,350 doses administered); women undergoing excisional treatment, that is, those who have previously been treated for precancerous lesions (7615 doses); women who have undergone solid organ transplantation (165 doses); women who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (79 doses); people with symptomatic or asymptomatic HIV infection (2152 doses).

Vaccination Protocol Update

The HPV vaccine is indicated for the prevention of genital warts, precancerous lesions of the genital organs (cervix, vulva, and vagina), precancerous lesions of the anal canal, cervical cancer, and anal cancer that is causally associated with certain genotypes of the virus.

In the Valencian Community, systematic HPV vaccination of adolescent women was introduced in 2008, and subsequent reviews included a recommendation to maintain vaccination of unvaccinated women under 18 years of age, as well as vaccination of people with certain medical conditions. .

Likewise, in October 2022, vaccination was introduced for male adolescents aged twelve years. The Ministry of Health has now updated the HPV vaccination protocol in the Valencian Community, following the recent approval at the end of February by the Public Health Commission of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System of a document examining scientific evidence. evidence on alternative vaccination guidelines.

Thus, recommendations for vaccination against HPV consist, on the one hand, of systematic vaccination of girls and boys from the age of 12 (a regimen of 2 doses with an interval of at least 6 months). In addition, recruitment of unvaccinated women under 18 years of age is recommended; for unvaccinated men (born in 2010 and not vaccinated in 2022) a regimen of 2 doses with an interval of at least 6 months; as well as unvaccinated people with certain risk situations (2-dose regimen administered at least 6 months apart).

Similarly, vaccination is recommended for immunosuppressed people under 45 years of age, always in a 3-dose schedule (at 0, 1-2 and 6 months), regardless of the age at which vaccination began. This group includes people with Caprice syndrome, people with HIV infection, or people receiving solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplants.

Finally, vaccination is also recommended for women of any age who have previously been treated for preneoplastic lesions with a 3-dose regimen (0, 1-2, and 6 months).