Around 80 percent of people will go through at least one HPV (human papillomavirus) infection in their lifetime. “You could actually look at it as a pandemic,” said the doctor Elmar Joura from MedUni Vienna during a background discussion on World HPV Day on Thursday. The virus can cause cancer in women and men, but vaccination can prevent it. When it comes to vaccination, we can “get even better”, stressed Youth and Women's Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP).
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There are no exact figures on vaccination coverage in Austria. The values are around 40 to 50 percent, but only “in the target group for school vaccinations”, where immunization is offered free of charge for nine to eleven year olds, as Joura explained. “There would be a lot of room here to catch up,” said the HPV vaccination expert. Austria did pioneering work in the invention of the principle and the development of active ingredients and was the first country in Europe to recommend vaccination for boys as well. The e-vaccination certificate is definitely an additional opportunity.
The vaccination is effective against six types of cancer, emphasized Joura. Among them are three gynecological, mainly cervical carcinoma, but also anal and throat carcinoma, which affects both sexes, and penile carcinoma. The doctor advocates vaccination as part of the free child vaccination program, but also afterwards without an age limit. Women aged 30 and over should also get tested for HPV. In the event of a positive result for HPV strains 16 or 18, a colposcopy of the cervix with a biopsy is made, in which case an “extremely high risk factor” for later cancer is identified.
“Vaccination is currently on everyone's lips, but not all vaccinations,” said Raab. Corona has meant that certain preventive measures have fallen behind. The HPV vaccination is important not only for girls, but also for boys, the minister emphasized. With the opening of the school, she wants to draw more attention to this and is also in close contact with the Ministry of Education. A future awareness-raising about the mother-child pass is also a possibility.
In terms of numbers, the sexual transmission of HPV is the most important, said Joura. He therefore advocated vaccination in good time before starting sexual activity and because the immune response is stronger with an early vaccination. An infection is possible with “every close contact”, there are also many transmissions at birth. The expert therefore primarily emphasized the prevention of cancer, not sexual transmission. In western Austria there was even resistance at the beginning of the vaccination campaign due to conservatism, but that has evened out over time.
Ina Herzer, Austria CEO of the vaccine developer MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme), said the situation of the infrastructure and easy access to vaccination is different in Austria. She asked Raab for this to be standardized. In addition, it should be ascertained which vaccination gaps have arisen and “how can we close them,” said Herzer. Raab spoke of a federal system in the health sector. But you will “on the part of the federal government to ensure that the vaccination coverage increases”.
In any case, it is financially advisable to take advantage of the free vaccination in the children's vaccination program up to the age of twelve. Recently, the deadline for the lower-cost HPV catch-up vaccinations was extended by one year to the age of 16 due to the corona pandemic. Here, around 60 to 70 euros per vaccination – a total of three – have to be paid, as Herzer explained. After that, the costs of around 200 to 215 euros per vaccination must be paid completely privately.
