Following in the footsteps of different European countries, the pioneer community in the State has implemented the measure to guarantee equality between both sexes
Catalonia will include vaccination against the virus human papillomavirus (HPV) in male students that they curse sixth gradefrom 11 to 12 years old, in the vaccination schedule of the next school year 2022-2023as announced on Monday by the Ministry of Health.
The Catalan department, which will thus become a pioneer in Spain in the immunization of men, has launched this measure with the will of ensure protection against infection of HPV in both boys and girls and therefore ensure equality between the sexes.
It is estimated that between 85% and 90% of sexually active people will get HPV at some point of their life. The percentage of girls who were vaccinated during the 2020-2021 academic year was 86% in Catalonia.
Catalonia follows in the footsteps of Europe
With the inclusion of the vaccine in boys, Catalonia goes one step further how other European countries such as Austria, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland have done, the ‘ministry’ has underlined in a statement.
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The first Catalan vaccination calendar was made at the beginning of 1980 and with that guideline protection was given against seven diseases. Since then it has been updated periodically up to the current sixteen. At the beginning of this year, 2022, vaccination against meningococcus B in children was included.
Vaccines in Catalonia they are not mandatory. Those included in the vaccination calendar are administered for free at vaccination centers. In Catalonia, in a non-pandemic year, more than 3.2 million vaccines, which receive a million and a half people in almost 1,000 vaccination centers. Thus more than 33,000 cases of disease are avoided year.