It is recommended that young people get vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Good news: for all youths under 26, the vaccine is now fully reimbursed by the national health insurance.
The decree was published in the Official Journal on December 12: Gardasil, the vaccine that protects against human papillomavirus (HPV), is now fully reimbursed by the national health insurance for all young people under 26, without distinction of gender or sexual orientation. In May, the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) issued a recommendation to broaden the coverage of this safe and effective vaccine against a family of viruses responsible each year for 100,000 cases of anogenital warts, 35,000 precancerous lesions or 6,400 cancers of the cervix, anus, mouth, or throat.
Until now, this vaccine was reimbursed at 65% by the national health insurance for teenagers aged 11 to 14, girls or boys, with the possibility of a catch-up (reimbursement) up to 19 for everyone, and up to 26 for men who have sex with men (MSM). Mutuals covered the remaining portion of the vaccine reimbursement.
Vaccination campaign
This expansion of reimbursement is part of a desire to increase vaccination coverage among young people, since the vaccine is more effective if administered before exposure to HPV, that is, before the first sexual intercourse. For the past three years, a vaccination campaign has been offered to fifth-grade students in many middle schools, which has led to a twenty-point increase in vaccination coverage, according to data from Santé publique France.
Nearly 80% of sexually active people are in contact with the HPV virus, and in the vast majority of cases (90%), HPV infection is transient and eliminated by the immune system within two years. But in 5 to 10% of people exposed to the virus, persistent infection leads to cellular abnormalities responsible for genital warts or precancerous lesions, according to data reported by HAS.
Sans être définitives, des données de méta-analyses permettent de penser que l’immunité naturelle acquise pourrait baisser dans le temps et ne pas protéger d’une réinfection. C’est pourquoi certains médecins – pas tous – recommandent de se faire vacciner même après 26 ans. Un choix personnel qui dépend de plusieurs facteurs, notamment du parcours de vie et des finances (les trois injections coûtent environ 350 euros, et ne sont pas remboursées après 26 ans). Une chose est certaine : le dépistage régulier des cancers liés aux HPV chez le proctologue, le gynécologue ou le dermatologue, est chaudement recommandé tout au long de la vie.
