Taipei to roll out HPV vaccination for junior high school boys

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) The Taipei City government announced Tuesday that it will provide free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations for junior high school boys starting Sept. 1, making it the first local government in Taiwan to offer the service.

According to the city's Department of Health, vaccinations will be offered to eighth-grade boys born between Sept. 2, 2010, and Sept. 1, 2011, aligning with the annual vaccination schedule for junior high school girls.

The World Health Organization is pushing for 90 percent of females to receive the HPV vaccine before age 15 and, if feasible, proposes including teenage boys as well, the department said.

According to the department, the lifetime risk of HPV infection is as high as 80 percent regardless of gender.

An HPV infection may cause cervical and vaginal cancers in women but it is also closely linked to head, neck and anal cancers in men, it said.

Lo Pei-jen (婁培人), deputy superintendent at National Taiwan University Hospital, pointed out that because of how HPV works, it is harder for males to get rid of the infection once they have it.

Unlike females who can get tested early with a cervical smear, there is no regular test for males, he explained, and the best way to prevent infection is by getting the HPV vaccine, which works best when given during the teenage years.

According to Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), the city government has allocated an additional budget of NT$16 million (US$494,000) for the program.

It is estimated that this funding will support the participation of up to 10,000 eighth-grade boys from junior high schools, constituting approximately 70 percent of the targeted group, Chiang said.