The government-funded human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is to be expanded to boys at junior-high school starting in September, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.
The Taiwan Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, the Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Taiwan Immunization Vision and Strategy, the Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan, the Taiwan Head and Neck Society, the Formosa Cancer Foundation and the National Alliance of Presidents of Parents Associations held a joint news conference in Taipei yesterday to raise public awareness about the risks of HPV infection, regardless of gender.
Invited to give an address, HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said the HPV vaccine is an effective way to prevent several HPV-related cancers and that government-funded vaccinations for girls at junior high school started in 2018, aiming to achieve the WHO’s goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030.
Photo: CNA
The WHO also set a global target of HPV vaccination coverage above 90 percent in girls by age 15, and the coverage in Taiwan has reached more than 90 percent in the past two years, he said.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last year suggested expanding the eligibility to include boys at junior-high school, so the HPA is to include them from September this year, Wu said.
Approximately 90,000 boys would become eligible for the vaccine, and Taiwan would become the first nation in East Asia to offer government-funded HPV vaccines to both boys and girls, he said, adding that the budget would be funded by the Tobacco Health and Welfare Surcharge.
While many people believe HPV infection only affects women, causing cervical cancer, it also causes cancer in men, said Taiwan Society of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery chairman Lou Pei-jen (婁培人), who is also deputy superintendent of National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).
HPV infection can increase the risk of oropharyngeal (throat) cancer, oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer and anal cancer, as well as genital warts, he said.
A local study showed that about 30 to 50 percent of oropharyngeal cancer cases in Taiwan were linked to HPV infection, Lou said, adding that although HPV is primarily transmitted through sexual contact, it can also be spread through other intimate skin-to-skin contact.
Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan representative Lin Kuan-yin (林冠吟), who is an attending physician at NTUH, said that 50 to 90 percent of sexually active men and women would acquire HPV in their lifetime, and while the virus can clear up naturally in most people, some people experience long-term infections which can lead to precancerous changes and potentially cancer.
Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology secretary-general Huang Chien-pei (黃建霈), an attending physician at Mackay Memorial Hospital, said the incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer has surpassed HPV-related cervical cancer in the US, and the trend has also been observed in Taiwan, so both genders are encouraged to get vaccinated.
Formosa Cancer Foundation deputy chief executive Tsai Li-chuan (蔡麗娟) said the foundation conducted an HPV awareness survey on students and their parents last year and found that the majority of respondents had insufficient knowledge about the HPV vaccination for boys.
Wu said the government-funded vaccination would be administered on campus and the HPA encourages all eligible boys and girls to get vaccinated for better protection.
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