Low participation shows young people are not interested in free HPV vaccination

Young people's participation in the HPV vaccination campaign is disillusioning. Some 1.3 million people between the ages of 19 and 27 were eligible for free vaccinations against the cancer-causing HPV within a year. However, only 21 percent have been vaccinated, according to NOS, the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported.

Two vaccinations at least five months apart are required to receive a full vaccination. The vaccination campaign against the cancer-causing virus should go on until the end of 2023. However, due to very low participation, the campaign was extended until June 1, 2024. In the hope that more young people will be vaccinated by then.

Although the low turnout is disappointing, the health department had anticipated such difficulties." We knew in advance that it is not an easy target group. When you're 20, you're concerned with all kinds of things, but not with the possibility of getting sick later in life," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.

It was also found that men are more interested in HPV vaccination than women. This is because 900,000 of the 1.3 million young people eligible to receive free vaccination are men. So far, 16 percent of invited women have received the first injection, compared with 22 percent of men, NOS reported.

While the young target group seems to show little interest in the HPV vaccinations, there are many women in their late 20s who want to make use of the free vaccination. However, since they do not fit into the age group, they are required to pay around 400 euros for the HPV vaccination.

Many women therefore feel that they are being treated unfairly. As a result, The magazine Linda.meiden started a petition in the spring to increase the age limit to 30 years. The petition has received almost 7500 signatures. The editors are now checking whether it is possible to present the signatures to the Tweede Kamer.

However, the Ministry of Health has no plans to expand the target group for the free HPV vaccination. The group was determined based on a review by the Health Council, the spokeswoman said. That concluded that the vaccination's effectiveness is questionable after the age of 26.

The older you are, the more likely you are to have been infected with HPV before, thus reducing the effectiveness of the vaccination, the spokesperson explained. "I understand the frustration, but we've asked experts for advice, and we're following that," the spokesperson told NOS.