The French Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SFCPCV) provided an initial assessment of the vaccination campaign against papillomavirus (HPV) infections in colleges launched in October, during its 47th National Congress, organized on January 11 2024 in Montrouge.
- A vaccination campaign against papillomavirus in French middle schools has been launched for 5th grade students.
- The objective of health professionals was to reach 30% of children vaccinated. But the campaign had little success in schools.
- For the SFCPCV, we need to improve the procedure around consent and information for parents and adolescents about HPV.
If vaccination coverage against infections papillomavirus (HPV) is above 70% in many countries including Portugal, Belgium and the United Kingdom, France is lagging far behind. In France, less than 50% of young girls and less than 13% of boys under 15 have received at least one dose of the vaccine which helps fight this virus responsible for several cancers. To catch up, France launched a vaccination campaign against HPV aimed at students of 5e in colleges during the last school year. The French Society of Colposcopy and Pathology Cervico-Vaginal (SFCPCV) took advantage of his 47e National Congress to make an initial assessment of this measure.
Vaccination HPV in colleges: the objective is not reached
For this first vaccination campaign against HPV in colleges, health professionals wanted to set a reasonable objective. “Our target is to reach at least 30% of middle school students vaccinated.”explain Pr Geoffroy Canlorbe. But the first data let think that this rate will not be reached for this edition.
Concerning the vaccination rate carried out within educational establishments, only data from the Grand Est region are available. But they already reveal a lack of enthusiasm. None of its 10 departments has reached the objective of 30% vaccinated. The 3 best students were Meuse (25.5% of the eligible population)the Marne (20.6%) and the Haute-Marne (20.2%). And, the overall rate of vaccinated compared to the eligible population for the region is around 11%.
If the ARS of other regions have not yet transmitted the results of the vaccination campaigns, some have been able to give the acceptability rate. That is to say the percentage of parents who agreed to have their child vaccinated at school. If Brittany indeed obtained 30% positive responses, the rates are lower in the other regions: 13% in Occitanie, 15.7% in Corsica, 20.56% in Center Val de Loire or even 21.4% in New Aquitaine.
“However, this does not necessarily mean that adolescents are not vaccinated. Parents can also refuse, because the child is already vaccinated or they prefer to do it with their doctor.tempers Pr Geoffroy Canlorbe.
Vaccination campaign HPV : promote consent and information
The rather cautious responses of families to these first months of the vaccination campaign against HPV have enabled the French Society of Colposcopy and Pathology Cervico-Vaginal (SFCPCV) to see several avenues for improving vaccination coverage.
“One of the difficulties of the vaccination campaign is obtaining an authorization form correctly completed and signed by both parents,” explain Pr Geoffroy Canlorbe. To counter this, the organization proposes the implementation of:
- A call to parents by the school nurse if consent is incorrectly completed;
- THE collection of consent during parent-teacher meetings;
- a extension of the date of collection of consent: for example up to one month before vaccination;
- there translation of consent into several languages.
The other avenue is to improve communication on the benefits provided by the vaccine with the establishment of information meetings for parents on the campaign, raise awareness among adolescents through exhibitions, flyers or videos on the subject, or further discussions on the subject during the vaccination assessment in 6e done by school nurses.
For the SFCPCVinform about the HPV and its vaccine is the key to promotingmembership.
“The effectiveness of the vaccine has been confirmed by numerous studies over the past decade”recalls the expert. He gives the example of a Lancet study carried out in the United Kingdom where the vaccination coverage rate has been 80% since 2008. By taking more than 10 years of data, the researchers noticed a reduction in precancerous lesions of 39% if vaccination took place between 16 and 18 years of age, 75% if it was done between 14 and 16 years of age and 97% if it was done between 14 and 16 years of age. was carried out between 12 and 13 years old. The risk of cervical cancer was reduced by 34%, 62%, 87% respectively depending on the age group. “Scientists have calculated that 17,235 precancerous lesions and 448 cancers were prevented thanks to the vaccination campaign implemented in the United Kingdom”.
The infection with papillomavirus (HPV)sexually transmitted, is not only a risk factor for cervical cancer. This virus can also promote cancer of the sphere ENTroads aero-upper digestive tract, penis, anus or vagina. It is estimated that the papillomavirus are responsible for more than 6,400 cancers per year in France.