HPV Awareness Day: Young adults can get HPV shot without an appointment

Saturday is HPV Awareness Day, and young adults can get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus at GGD without an appointment. HPV can cause six types of cancer, including cervical, penile and throat cancer.

Usually, children receive an invitation to be vaccinated the year they turn 10, but the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is working to catch up. As a result, young adults who have not previously been vaccinated are now being invited. Normally, people who want to get vaccinated later have to pay for it themselves, but as part of the catch-up campaign, vaccination is temporarily free for people up to age 27.

The vaccination actually requires an appointment, but on HPV Awareness Day, young adults up to age 27 can stop by 45 GGD locations across the country. The vaccination consists of two shots and usually costs between 350 and 400 euros in total. Only if young adults complete the vaccination before 2024 will it be free for them. In addition, there must be an interval of at least five months between the first and second vaccination.

HPV is transmitted through sexual intercourse, so the vaccination is most likely to work if you have not yet had sex. However, according to Jeanne-Marie Hament, director of the National Immunization Program, the vaccination can still work very well later in life. A total of 1,3 million young adults between the ages of 19 and 27 will receive an invitation this year.