Vaccination against cancer: More children and adolescents receive HPV vaccinations

According to a new analysis, children and adolescents in Lower Saxony are being vaccinated against HPV more frequently - but still significantly less frequently than in the pre-Corona year of 2019. Sexually transmitted human papillomaviruses (HPV) can cause, among other things, cervical cancer and cancer of the oropharynx.

Between the Harz and the North Sea, HPV first vaccinations increased by twelve percent in 2023 compared to the previous year - extrapolated to all children in Lower Saxony, around 60,000 girls and boys aged up to 17 received the injection, according to a special analysis of the DAK-Gesundheit children and youth report. That was almost 7,000 more than a year earlier. This puts Lower Saxony in line with the national trend. But: The rate of first vaccinations in Lower Saxony was around 34 percent lower than before the pandemic - for girls it was 25 percent lower, and for boys it was even 42 percent lower.

The HPV first vaccination rate for 9 to 17-year-olds in Lower Saxony was 8.6 percent in 2023, compared to 7.7 percent in 2022. For girls, the rate was 9.9 percent (2022: 8.8 percent) and for boys, 7.3 percent (6.6 percent). In 2019, the last year before the corona pandemic, the first vaccination rate was 12.9 percent - among girls it was 13.2 percent and among boys 12.6 percent.

According to DAK, the special analysis examined billing data from around 74,500 children and young people up to the age of 17 who are insured with DAK-Gesundheit in Lower Saxony. The period analyzed was from 2018 to 2023. DAK-Gesundheit claims to be the third largest health insurance company in Germany with 5.5 million insured people. In Lower Saxony, the company has 532,000 insured people.

According to the information, the Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends a first HPV vaccination for children aged nine and over - and the trend is particularly positive for nine-year-olds: in 2023, around 26 percent more children of that age in Lower Saxony received their first injection, and in the 9- to 14-year-old age group, this figure was 19 percent more than in 2022. Compared to 2019, however, there was a 19 percent decline among 9- to 14-year-olds, and among 15- to 17-year-olds, it was even 58 percent less.

With regard to the increase in vaccination rates among younger children, DAK regional head Dirk Vennekold spoke of a "success report". "It is a positive signal if more parents are having their children vaccinated against HPV-related cancer," he said, but stressed: "Because the rate of first vaccinations is still lower than before the pandemic, we need further education about the benefits of cancer prevention." There are great opportunities to inform children and young people in schools.

With a view to World HPV Day on March 4, Lower Saxony's Health Minister Andreas Philippi said that the figures were pointing in the right direction. "But they also make it clear that there is still a great need for action in HPV cancer prevention," stressed the SPD politician.

The health insurance company said that, according to the Federal Center for Health Education, around 6,250 women in Germany develop HPV-related cancer every year. The number is lower among men: According to the Robert Koch Institute, around 2,900 men develop a HPV-related malignant tumor every year.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:250227-930-388300/1