European Commission to debate lifting vaccination rates against HPV

The European Commission will present proposals to the EU member states on Wednesday on how to get more people vaccinated against HPV viruses, the EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides announced on Tuesday night.

Human papilloma viruses (HPV) are transmitted through sex and can cause cervical cancer and cancer of the mouth, throat and penis.

The aim is for 90% of eligible girls and a significant proportion of boys to be vaccinated against HPV by 2030. It's also hoped that the figures for early detection of the virus will improve.

"Less than 50% of women between the ages of 50 and 69, the age group targeted by the screening programmes, have had a mammogram in the last two years," said Kyriakides, who has had cancer herself.

"It is difficult to tell people to change their lifestyle," said the health commissioner.

But this does not mean that it cannot be tried. "You have to do it without scaring people," said Kyriakides.

An analysis published by German health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit in November said vaccinations against certain cancers are declining among children and adolescents in Germany. This is particularly evident among 15- to 17-year-old boys, according to an analysis of the health insurance company's policyholders.

The German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ) said the vaccination rate was "worryingly low."

According to the Robert Koch Institute, over 6,000 women and around 1,600 men develop HPV-related cancers in Germany every year.