Now men will also receive the vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus in Colombia

The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National Committee on Immunization Practices, has announced that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will be available free of charge for males under 18 years of age in Colombia. This implies that the vaccine will be an integral part of the Expanded Plan of Immunization.

Currently, the HPV vaccine is free of charge for girls and adolescents between 9 and 17 years of age. With this decision, it will also be free for children and adolescents under 18.

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The purpose of this strategy is to implement a comprehensive approach to address this public health problem. Its main objective is to reduce the transmission of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), since infected men can infect their sexual partners or suffer different types of cancer.

In 2022, according to the Ministry of Health, the HPV vaccination rate in Colombia was 75% in girls aged 9 years, while it dropped to 45% in men aged 12-26 years. Thus, vaccination coverage in men is significantly lower.

Comprehensive immunization against the Human Papilloma Virus plays an essential role in the prevention of cervical cancer, which is the most common cancer among women worldwide, according to the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. This vaccine significantly reduces the risk of HPV infection.

What is Human Papillomavirus?

According to Planned Parenthood, Human Papillomavirus, or Papillomaviridae, is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. In most cases, HPV is benign and tends to go away on its own.

According to a statement issued by the Colombian Association of Scientific Societies, it is estimated that approximately 85% of the world’s population is infected with the virus at some point in their lives.

Most people infected by the Human Papilloma Virus do not experience symptoms and are in good health, which normally prevents them from being aware of its presence.

However, certain strains of HPV can increase the risk of cancer. According to the World Health Organization, of the more than 200 types of HPV that exist, at least 12 of these variants are relevant. Two types in particular are responsible for the majority of HPV-related cancer cases.

These are called “high-risk human papillomaviruses”. Cervical cancer is usually linked to the Human Papilloma Virus, but this virus can also cause cancer in other areas of the body, such as the vulva, vagina, penis and anus.

In recent years, an educational and promotional campaign has been implemented to promote the vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus in women. According to the Colombian League Against Cancer, during the year 2020, approximately seven women lost their lives daily due to cervical cancer.

Dr. Natalia Castrillón explained that, although women are the main ones affected by HPV, this virus can also be responsible for cancer in men, a factor that was not previously clearly understood.

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For a long time, there was a mistaken belief that men were asymptomatic carriers of the virus without being affected. Recently, it has been discovered that HPV can impact men in organs such as the penis, urethra, anus and oropharynx.

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Immunization Pathway

Immunization against HPV in Bogota is significantly below the targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recommends 90% coverage of the population. In Colombia’s capital city, only 22% of the population has received the HPV vaccine.

César Castiblanco, Acemi’s health manager, explained that currently the vaccination percentage is 45% with the first dose and only 21% with the second dose. It is evident that many people are not completing their vaccination schedules properly.

Dr. Castrillón stated that the inclusion of free vaccination for the male population in the Expanded Plan of Immunization has a significant impact on public health.

For every 1% increase in vaccination coverage of the population, there are an estimated 40 fewer cases of cervical cancer and 18 lives saved in women under 75 years of age.

A milestone that discouraged the application of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine in Colombia

In 2013, Colombia presented vaccination coverages comparable to those of countries such as the United Kingdom or Australia, exceeding 90%.

Since 2014, a situation began to be reported that generated great informative confusion in Carmen de Bolivar, where apparently 243 girls reported adverse symptoms after being vaccinated against HPV.

As a result of this, and other alleged cases reported, in 2014 the decision was made to suspend the HPV vaccination program in schools.

This led to a plummeting vaccination rate in Colombia, to the point that, in 2019, it dropped to 17%, according to data provided by the MinSalud.

A report by the National Institute of Health concluded that the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine had not been the cause of the Carmen de Bolivar incident. El Colombiano reported in 2015 that the study found, among other things, that there was not full concordance between the girls who received the dose and those who presented symptoms. It also found that the majority of affected girls were between 11 and 13 years old, while the vaccine had been administered predominantly to girls between 9 and 11 years old.

Nubia Muñoz, the Colombian scientist proposed for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, stated in an interview with the BBC that at least eight exhaustive reviews of the vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus were carried out, and all of them showed that it is safe and effective.

According to the WHO, the ability of the vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) to prevent more than 90% of cervical cancers is a significant achievement in the fight against this disease, which causes several types of cancer.

Colombia does not manufacture its own vaccine against Human Papilloma Virus

Colombia has a small and developing pharmaceutical industry. The country produces mainly generic drugs and some branded pharmaceuticals.

However, it does not have the capacity to manufacture complex vaccines, such as the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine. According to the Colombian Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Colombia buys the vaccine mainly from the United States.

In 2022, the United States sold Colombia a total of 2.5 million doses of Human Papillomavirus vaccine. This represents 60% of the HPV vaccines imported by Colombia that year.

The pharmaceutical industry in Colombia has an interesting market for HPV vaccine at its disposal. The country has a population of over 50 million people and it is vital to improve vaccination rates, as cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in Colombia, after breast cancer.

With investment in research and development, the Colombian pharmaceutical industry could develop the capacity to manufacture HPV vaccines. This would allow the country to become more self-sufficient in vaccine production and reduce its dependence on imports.

The manufacture of HPV vaccines is an opportunity for the Colombian pharmaceutical industry to increase sales and generate new jobs. It would also make an important contribution to public health in Colombia.

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