November. A month after the launch of the national vaccination campaign against papillomavirus in colleges, Aurélien Rousseau admits: “I think we won’t be there.” The then Minister of Health had expressed his reservations about the possible failure of the campaign, hoping however to convince the parents of “150,000 5th grade students” to take the plunge. “It’s a start, it will take tenacity,” he declared. Six months after the start of the campaign, vaccination against the HPV virus, which causes cervical cancer, is slipping.
According to initial figures from the Ministry of Health, only one fifth grade student in 10 has received a first dose of vaccine. A result well below the forecasts of the Ministry of Health which expected at the beginning of September a minimum vaccination rate of 30%.
Administrative burdens, poor communication…
As of December 23, just under 93,000 college students had been vaccinated, according to partial reports from regional health agencies. Vaccination coverage deemed “disappointing” and far from expectations by officials of the French Society of Colposcopy and Cervicovaginal Pathology (SFCPCV) at the beginning of January. For the SFCPCV, the campaign suffered, among other things, from an administrative organization that was “a bit heavy and complicated”.
“Colleges received large envelopes to distribute to parents with an information letter, a prospectus […] and the authorization sheet to be signed by both parents. And on the day of vaccination, you also need the health record,” recalled Geoffroy Canlorbe, secretary general of the Learned Society and practitioner at the AP-HP.
A position which echoes that of Julia Maruani, vice-president of the SFCPCV and medical gynecologist in Marseille: “The main failure is linked to the lack of direct and effective communication” with parents, she estimated from our colleagues at the AFP.
Death of a schoolboy at the end of October
Especially since the false notes are superimposed on a drama. At the end of October, a college student from Nantes died following a fall he suffered fifteen minutes after receiving his first dose. An administrative investigation is open, but does not reveal any “dysfunction in the organization of the vaccination campaign”, according to the Regional Health Agency (ARS).
Last November, the Medicines Agency (ANSM), however, recommended that school staff ensure that adolescents remain lying or sitting on the floor leaning against a wall for a quarter of an hour following the injection.
Final results expected at the end of June
For the moment, the figures communicated remain provisional. A more precise estimate of the total number of students vaccinated with a first dose is expected at the end of the first quarter of 2024. However, we will have to wait until the end of the school year to obtain a complete assessment of this first year. the country. Namely, the number of vaccinated students who have received two doses of vaccines.
Based on the lessons learned from this document, “the authorities will make any possible adaptations” next year, said the Ministry of Health, which is aiming for vaccination coverage of 80% by 2030.
Transmission by sexual contact
In 10% of cases, infection with human papillomaviruses – there are 150 types – can be responsible for lesions on the mucous membrane of the cervix. “These lesions can develop into cancer 10 to 15 years after infection with the virus,” explains Service-public.fr. Transmission occurs almost exclusively through sexual contact and condoms only provide imperfect protection against infection, since they do not cover the entire genital area.