Vaccination was previously free from the age of nine to eleven, but this period is now set to increase significantly. Human papilloma viruses (HPV) are responsible for numerous cancers.
It accounts for 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged 15-44 in the EU. “The expansion of free HPV vaccination will protect hundreds of thousands of people in Austria from cancer in the long term,” said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens). Human papillomaviruses also cause the majority of cancers of the mid-pharynx and genitals in women and men.
Vaccination is recommended for both boys and girls over the age of nine. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a vaccination coverage of 90 percent. In August 2020, Austria also committed to meeting this requirement by 2030. Currently, free vaccination in Austria is limited to children between the ages of nine and eleven. Up to the age of 15 it is sold at cost price. From the age of 18, the costs are usually 620 euros. The Department of Defense will also offer the vaccination to recruits during their military service.
“A step towards more social justice”
Two thirds of the vaccines are financed by the federal government, one sixth each is borne by social security and the respective federal state. The federal states bear the costs for the vaccination. Details of the agreement will be fixed in the coming days, according to the Ministry of Health. The aim is to implement the free vaccination as early as next year.
Up until now, people from low-income families in particular have found it difficult to afford the vaccination. That’s why the expansion of the HPV vaccination program is also a step towards more social justice,” said Rauch. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner added: “Together with the Cancer Aid, I campaigned for HPV vaccinations to be included in the vaccination program. As the Austrian Armed Forces with our position commissions, we bear great responsibility for the health of thousands of young men.”
“The federal states have been pushing for a long time to ensure that the Austrian vaccination programs are anchored in the health insurance system. Public health is not just a question of information campaigns, it is necessary to raise our vaccination programs at least to a European level,” explained Vienna’s health councilor and chairman of the conference of state health officers. “Today we therefore approved the Minister of Health’s proposal to expand HPV vaccination, even if we have to make several million euros available for this at very short notice after the annual budget has been finalized in order to actually bring the vaccine to the people. The HPV vaccination is far too little known, even though it can offer such great protection against serious cancer.”
requirement for several years
Peter Lehner, the co-chair of the conference of social insurance carriers, also agreed: “The expansion of free HPV vaccination will significantly increase vaccination rates. We are taking a step from the repair system towards the precautionary system.”
With the basic agreement that has now been reached, Austria is meeting a demand made by experts and interest groups, especially from the youth sector, for several years. The team chairing the Austrian Students’ Union pointed out in June that the vaccination was not affordable for many. In other EU countries there have been catch-up vaccination programs for those born between 1992 and 2002. Liechtenstein, for example, offers the vaccination free of charge up to the age of 26, the student representative emphasized.
Source: Nachrichten
