In a year, 13,000 boys vaccinated against HPV

In one year, more than 13,000 boys aged over 11 were vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the National Public Health Centre (NVSC) announced.

Inoculation of boys against HPV started in Lithuania for the first time in 2023.

According to the NVSC, in order to stop the virus a 90% vaccination rate among girls needs to be reached and the number of inoculated boys has to increase.

In percentage terms, around 60% of girls and boys aged 11 and 12 were vaccinated against HPV last year. However, more effort is needed to reach the 90% rate in order to achieve universal immunity, epidemiologist Daiva Razmuvienė, senior specialists at the NVSC Communicable Diseases Management Division, told public radio LRT on Monday.

She said the infection is often sexually transmitted thus vaccination of both boys and girls later helps reduce mortality among women from diseases caused by HPV.