All EU and European Economic Area countries now recommend vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) for adolescent girls and boys as part of their routine immunisation programmes.
Three countries — Iceland, Portugal and Norway — have reached the European Union Council’s 2024 target of 90% HPV vaccination coverage among girls by the age of 15, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) informed in a release on Monday.
HPV is a common virus that can cause cervical cancer and other diseases, and vaccination programmes in Europe were introduced about 15 years ago.
Large studies in countries including Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark have found HPV vaccination is linked with lower rates of HPV infections and precancerous lesions, alongside declining cervical cancer rates among vaccinated women.
Since 2020, several European countries have reported lower cervical cancer incidence among vaccinated women, with studies from Sweden, Denmark and the UK indicating that getting the vaccine earlier increases protection.
A Swedish study suggested girls vaccinated before their 17th birthday had an 88% lower incidence of cervical cancer, and a further six-year follow-up found the reduction was sustained and invasive cervical cancer incidence fell at population level after HPV vaccination.
New vaccine coverage dashboard
School-based vaccination programmes tend to achieve higher coverage among both girls and boys, compared with other delivery models, the ECDC report said.
The ECDC has launched an online dashboard showing vaccine coverage for HPV and for other vaccine-preventable infections including hepatitis B, measles and rubella.
Even with progress in HPV vaccination, screening programmes remain necessary because people can still be infected by HPV types not covered by current vaccines.
