HPV: vaccination is back on a creeping upward trajectory

What has it given us? According to the government, that is, the Ministries of Health and Education, a new opening and better prospects. Maybe not success, but hopes for it certainly have. After all, as evidenced by statistics, October and November 2024 saw a rebound and a marked increase in interest in vaccination. This can hardly be considered a surprise, since three new vintages have entered the program and in each there is a group of "vaccinno-enthusiasts," people who are convinced of the need for vaccination and when they are given the opportunity to vaccinate their children for free and provide them with significant protection against dangerous pathogens thanks to this decision, they take advantage of it without delay. The snag is that in the following months the trend did not continue, to put it brutally, and vaccinations returned to a creeping growth path. A growth at a snail's pace that doesn't bring us any closer to the goal, even though the vaccination rate for girls exceeded 30 percent in the first two vintages covered by the program. Suffice it to say that the goal of 60 percent set in the National Cancer Strategy is considered by experts to be insufficient; rather, we should be aiming for the 70-80 percent range. But for that, apparently, ideas for other restarts and breakthroughs are needed, other decisions are needed.

Doctors have warned from the beginning that HPV vaccination should be on the mandatory vaccination calendar, with rigor similar to that of the PSO. It is well known that mandatory vaccinations for some parents are "more important" and taken more seriously than those that have no such "seal". The fact that vaccination is publicly funded obviously convinces some of the addressees, but for some, the lack of mandatory vaccination may even be a wake-up call - they are the ones to make the decision, not the state, not the doctor. Could it be because vaccination carries some "risks"? Vaccination does not carry risks, it protects against a whole range of oncological diseases, and it does not have the seal of "mandatory" just because some politicians associate it with sexual activity. Public health (but also the health of specific individuals who fail to protect themselves from cancer, whether of the cervix, throat or larynx) is hostage to a lack of education and trust in medical knowledge. Hostage to the sowers of fake news, preying on the fear provoked by themselves, against whose activity the state is still helpless. Despite restarts and good intentions.