Ministry of Health to vaccinate children in Valencia against HPV after summer

VALENCIAN Health Minister Miguel Minguez has announced that vaccination against papillomavirus (HPV) for children over 12 years of age will begin in the coming months.

 Vaccinations will begin after summer, from September or October, following recommendations from the scientific community and paediatricians to extend HPV vaccination to all children.  

This announcement has caused numerous reactions from the rest of the autonomous communities, also from the Ministry of Health, all waiting for a national consensus. Minguez said, “The scientific evidence is already solid enough to recommend its administration” and for this reason was advocating extending HPV vaccination to all children.  

In a statement the department said, “the human papillomavirus is very common and the main route of transmission is sexual”. The department also explained that 80 per cent of people have contact with it throughout their lives and most are unaware that they are carriers. The vaccination helps prevent against cancers caused by the virus, including cervical cancer, anal cancer and some head and neck cancers. 

The debate on the inoculation of children is not new. In 2021, The Valencian Pediatric Society (SVP) positioned itself in line with the Vaccine Committee (CAV) of the Spanish Pediatric Association (AEP). 

Currently in the Valencian Community, the papillomavirus vaccine is included in the childhood vaccination schedule for 12-year-old girls and the guideline is two doses. The numbers are getting higher in 2021, with 82,663 HPV vaccines administered, which represents an increase of 27 per cent, according to the data registered in the Vaccine Information System.