Only 10% of 5th grade secondary school students have been vaccinated so far

Only 10% of fifth-grade students have received the first dose of the vaccine against the papillomavirus, according to first provisional figures from the Ministry of Health, which is awaiting the final results of its first campaign in middle schools to decide on possible adaptation this year. Next.

“As of December 23, 2023, at least 92,262 students were vaccinated in colleges, according to partial reports from regional health agencies”The Directorate General of Health announced to Agence France-Presse. “At this stage of the HPV vaccination campaign in colleges, statistics show that the vaccination rate of students is 5.^E About 10% »She clarifies.

Promised by Mr. Macron in early 2023, the vaccination campaign against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of numerous cancers – cervix, vulva, vagina, ENT, anus – was launched in early October, in all public colleges and voluntary private institutions. .

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Papillomavirus: What health benefits can be expected from a widespread vaccination campaign in middle schools?

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Vaccination beyond expectations

Thanks to the information and communication campaign deployed by the National Cancer Institute (INCA) since September, “It is likely that proposed vaccination activities in college will increase vaccinations” Judged by doctors in practice, Directorate General of Health.

Questioned by AFP in November, Aurelian Rousseau, then the health minister, acknowledged that the government’s initial goal might not be met, while hoping that 150,000 fifth-graders would be vaccinated this year. “It’s a start, it will take persistence”He reacted, creating heterogeneity and need between regions and families“Customize Tools”.

In early January, officials from the French Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SFCPCV) determined that the vaccination was far from expected, with the first glimpse “frustrating”. For SFCPCV, the campaign suffered from, among other things, the administrative body “A bit heavy and complicated”.

“Colleges received large envelopes with information sheets, prospectuses to distribute to parents (…) and authorization sheet to be signed by both parents. And on the day of vaccination, you also need a health record”recalled Geoffrey Kenlorb, Secretary General of SFCPCV and AP-HP practitioner.

“The main failure is linked to the lack of direct and effective communication with parents”Guess, to AFP, Julia Maruani, vice-president of SFCPCV and gynecologist in Marseille.

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80% by 2030

The campaign may also have been affected by the death of a schoolboy near Nantes who suffered a fall after suffering post-vaccination discomfort. The recommendation was made to the General Secretariat of Catholic Education in late October “to suspend” In Catholic colleges under contract by “Caution”.

An administrative investigation opened after the schoolboy’s death yielded no clues “Inaction in the Organization of Vaccination Campaigns”.According to the regional health agency. In mid-November, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) recommended that, for a quarter of an hour after the injection, teenagers should lie down or sit on the floor, leaning against a wall.

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A more accurate estimate of the total number of students vaccinated for the first dose will be carried out in the first quarter of 2024, and a full evaluation of this first year of the campaign – that is, the number of students who received two vaccinations. Vaccine dose – will not be known until the end of the school year.

Based on lessons learned from this evaluation, “Authorities will make any possible adaptations” Next year, the Ministry of Health confirmed. Whether this vaccination takes place in the college or in the city, the vaccination coverage target set by the 2021-2030 ten-year strategy to fight cancer is 80% by 2030, he reiterated on AFP.

The world with AFP