A number of initiatives surrounding the possibility of a single vaccine against cancer and free HPV vaccination up to the 30th birthday helped to significantly increase the HPV vaccination offer in Upper Austria.

90 percent of cervical cancers are caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV), which are also responsible for many cancers. A vaccine provides almost 100 percent protection. The Gasoline Ribbon Initiative has been around for over a decade and aims to provide information and education on a variety of topics related to “pelvic cancer”, particularly the protective effect of the HPV vaccine.

Inaugural University – Prof. Lukas Hefler, Linz Order Hospital and Convent Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy Linz and Head of Gynecology Department of Health Officer LH-Deputy. Christine Haberlander will continue to work to raise awareness in 2024.

Educational work on the Upper Austrian people. schools

At the beginning of the school year, a total of 28,420 HPV folders were once again delivered to all 5th grades in schools in Upper Austria so that teachers could distribute them to parents at the information evening. “We want to let parents and legal guardians know how important and beneficial the HPV vaccine is for their children. That’s why I’ve supported this campaign from the beginning, and I want to thank the many supporters and helpers for their dedicated work,” says Haberlander.

To produce this high protective effect, since human papillomaviruses are primarily transmitted through sexual contact, the HPV vaccine must be administered before the first sexual contact. Additionally, according to recent research, vaccine response is best in children between the ages of nine and twelve.

Free in schools since 2014

The vaccine was included in the Austrian childhood vaccination concept as early as 2014 and has been offered free of charge in schools since then. However, vaccination rates are still low and vaccine recovery from the epidemic years has not yet been developed.

In 2022, 13 percent of nine- to eleven-year-olds received the complete vaccination schedule (2 or 3 partial vaccines), 49 percent of 12- to 13-year-olds, 53 percent of 14-year-olds, and nearly 40 percent of 15- to 20-year-olds. It was 5 percent among 21- to 30-year-olds, as those born before 1999 could not benefit from inclusion in the free infant vaccination program.

For this reason, educational work in schools is one of the cornerstones of the Petrol Ribbon initiative. “It is one of the few vaccines that has been shown to protect against cancer and other diseases caused by viruses. “In addition, the vaccine is the best tested in the world and has already been used millions of times,” explains Primar Hefler.

He called for an idea competition for schools in Upper Austria to raise awareness of the HPV vaccine in the fall of 2023 to raise awareness of this vaccine against cancer. A total of 15 schools from across Upper Austria took part in the competition. They were invited to present their proposals to a jury of doctors and public relations experts in the ballroom of Linz Ord Hospital.

“We were impressed by the creativity and professionalism of the ideas and execution. These campaigns are usually created as part of a program focused on schools and extend to social media campaigns, posters, days of action, etc.,” says Heffler.

HPV vaccination program in Upper Austria – free until your 30th birthday

• As part of school vaccination, all school students in class 5 are vaccinated free of charge.
• Also, vaccination is available for all children and youth between the ages of 9 years (= 9th birthday) to 30 years (= 30th birthday) at District Authorities, Magistrates and General Vaccination Centers of the Department of Health. The state service center in Linz is provided free of charge.
• The HPV vaccine can also be given free of charge by practicing doctors until your 30th birthday. Participating practices (general medicine, pediatrics and adolescent medicine, gynecology and obstetrics) have an HPV vaccination voucher.
• The Austrian Army administers vaccinations to young men in military service.

Thanks to the free offer, significantly more catch-up vaccinations

Since the free HPV vaccine offer was extended from 21 to 30 birthdays on July 1, 2024, 6,608 people aged 21 to 29 in Upper Austria already received the HPV vaccine in the first trimester (4,958 women, 1,650 men). This means that the number of HPV vaccines has increased significantly compared to previous years.

In total, from July to September 2024, 9,127 HPV vaccinations were carried out in Upper Austria up to their 30th birthday, twice as many as in the comparable period in 2023 (4,160).

“The high interest in the HPV vaccine is encouraging and motivates us in our efforts to connect this vaccine against cancer even more in people’s consciousness. The aim is to protect as many children, adolescents and young adults as possible in Upper Austria with the HPV vaccine,” says Haberlander.

HPV-Test AB 30

The second pillar in the prevention of cervical cancer is regular early detection tests by gynecologists and specialists. Regular HPV tests to detect/stop HPV infection should be done approximately three years after your 30th birthday.

During their lifetime, 80 to 90 percent of people will be infected with HPV. Most of these viruses are low-risk types that cause infectious, fast-growing skin changes in the genital area (condylomas/genital warts).

Other, so-called “high-risk types” are responsible for the development of various types of cancer: labia, penile and rectal cancer, mouth and throat cancer, and cervical cancer.

In Austria alone, around 400 women develop cervical cancer every year. This has now been enhanced with the help of Petrol Ribbon campaign. “A lot of educational work needs to be done on other types of cancer caused by HPV,” says Primar
Heffler.

One of the goals of this campaign is to educate people who have never been affected by this type of cancer, encourage regular visits to gynecologists and specialists, and last but not least, encourage them to get the HPV vaccine. “HPV-related cancers can affect anyone, regardless of gender or age. Timely vaccination against HPV in children or adolescents provides almost 100 percent protection against these diseases,” emphasizes Hefler.