Federal, state and Social Security agencies on Monday agreed to expand free HPV vaccination. From next year, children, young people and young adults between the ages of 9 and 21 must receive the vaccination for free. The details will be resolved in the coming days.
The HPV vaccination has been available free of charge to all girls and boys between the ages of nine and eleven in Austria since 2014. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of many cancers. It accounts for 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. “The expansion of free HPV vaccination will protect hundreds of thousands of people in Austria against cancer in the long term,” says Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens).
Cervical cancer, 90 percent caused by HPV, is the second most common cancer in women aged 15 to 44 in the EU after breast cancer. Human papillomaviruses also cause most cancers of the mid-pharynx and genital tract in women and men.
The WHO recommends a vaccination rate of 90%
Vaccination is recommended for both boys and girls from the age of nine. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a vaccination rate of 90 percent. In August 2020, Austria also committed to comply with this requirement by 2030.
Currently, free vaccination in Austria is limited to children between the ages of nine and eleven. Up to 15 years it is sold at cost price. From the age of 18, the costs are usually 620 euros. Vaccinations between the ages of 9 and 21 are now free.
The vaccination is also offered to conscripts
The Department of Defense will also offer the vaccination to recruits during their military service. Two-thirds of vaccines are funded by the federal government, with one-sixth each being borne by Social Security and the respective federal state. The federal states bear the costs of the vaccination.
Source: Krone
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