Over 160,000 young adults signed up for HPV vaccination; Fewer babies getting shots

More than 160,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 27 have made an appointment with the GGD for an HPV vaccination since January, the RIVM reported. The health institute also reported a slight decrease in babies’ vaccination rate.

HPV - the human papillomavirus - is a very common virus that can cause cancer of the cervix, mouth, throat, penis, anus, and vagina. The Netherlands has been vaccinating girls against HPV at age ten since 2010, and boys were added to the vaccination program last year too.

From January, the RIVM started catching up on young people between 18 and 27 who didn’t qualify for an HPV vaccine or missed it in the past. There are about 1.2 million young people in this age group.

This coming Saturday, young people can go to any one of the 45 GGD locations without an appointment to get their first HPV shot. There are two shots, given five months apart.

Kids between 10 and 18 who have not yet had the HPV vaccinations will receive a letter from youth care with an appointment.

The RIVM’s preliminary figures for the vaccination against mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR) and the one against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, and polio (DPTP) in babies showed a decrease in vaccination coverage. The vaccination rate for MMR dropped from 92.9 percent to 89.5 percent last year and DPTP from 94 percent to 92.9 percent, NOS reported.

The RIVM did not have a clear explanation for the decrease. Though it pointed out that parents can have their child vaccinated anonymously since last year, and those vaccinations aren’t included in the participation figures. The Covid-effect also may have played a role - in the Netherlands, public trust in vaccines has fallen from 84.5 percent to 75.5 percent since 2020.