STD and cancer vaccine more widely available in drive to prevent cases

Cancer and STD causing human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination is now being offered free of charge to young people, medical services director Elisavet Constantinou said on Monday.

More awareness needs to be created surrounding this virus, Constantinou said, and the fact that the vaccination is recommended for boys, as well as girls.

Because the vaccination is now subsidised fully by the state and is free for all ages, children as well as adults, who are state healthcare (Gesy) beneficiaries, an increase in uptake has been observed, Constantinou said.

Children should be vaccinated against HPV, according to international guidelines, to be fully protected by the time they begin having sex, since HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD), the health director noted.

HPV can cause cervical cancer, as well as some cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus and oropharynx (back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils), Constantinou said.

The vaccine is usually offered as part of children’s vaccination programmes for 11 to 13-year-olds. At this age the immune system is also primed to respond more actively to the vaccine, Constantinou said.

The cancers HPV can cause are difficult to cure, particularly if not diagnosed at an early stage, Constantinou added, saying that the first preventive front, that is vaccination, is obviously preferable to the second, that is early-stage diagnosis.

The HPV vaccine has been administered through school units since 2016 and now can be obtained free of charge through Gesy.

Informational leaflets by school health teams, as well as the WHO and the ministry of health, addressed to both children and parents, are regularly circulated in order to increase uptake and awareness, Constantinou said.

Fifty to 60 per cent of children are currently vaccinated and the goal is to reach vaccination rates of over 80 per cent.

To this end, the free vaccination age range has been expanded to include all young people up to the age of 19, until December, whereafter it will be again offered for free only to 11 to 13-year-olds and in cases where it is expressly indicated.

The standard HPV vaccine (Gardasil) schedule involves a double dose, however, for children over 15 sometimes a triple dose is administered, Constantinou said.

The health ministry rep encouraged parents to get informed by speaking with their personal doctors or pediatricians about the HPV vaccine, which is close to 100 per cent effective at preventing disease.