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.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS