TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan became the first East Asian country to offer free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations to boys this year, reaching a roughly 79% first-dose vaccination rate for boys and 91% for girls by December, according to Taiwan's Health Promotion Agency (國健署), the national health promotion authority under Taiwan's health ministry. The campaign targets junior high school students, roughly ages 12 to 15.
Director-General Shen Jingfen of the Health Promotion Agency (國健署) announced Dec. 15 that the first-dose vaccination rate broadly reflects the original target of 80% for boys and 90% for girls. The campaign, which began with the start of the school year in September, has primarily been carried out in schools. This marks growing recognition that preventing infections of this sexually transmitted disease requires vaccinating both boys and girls.
HPV is a common viral infection spread through sexual contact, and nearly everyone who is unvaccinated and sexually active has been infected at least once. While there is no cure for HPV, many infections cause no symptoms and clear up on their own. When they manifest, HPV infections tend to cause warts, including on the genitals or other parts of the body.
Certain HPV strains increase the likelihood of genital cancer, cervical cancer, and head and neck cancer. Nearly all cervical cancer cases are due to HPV, and it remains the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer among women globally. Two strains alone, HPV16 and HPV18, are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers.
Cervical cancer remains the 10th most common cancer among women in Taiwan, according to the Health Promotion Agency (國健署) in 2023. Vaccination programs have typically targeted girls because they are more vulnerable to cervical cancer, but sexually active men are also reservoirs of viruses. A review study showed roughly a third of men are infected with at least one genital HPV type.
While less prevalent than cervical cancer, other cancers caused by HPV, such as those in the head and neck, can also affect men. The United States included boys in its HPV vaccination program in 2011, the first in the world to do so. Since then, 85 countries have developed gender-neutral vaccination campaigns, mainly in Europe and the Americas.
The European Cancer Organisation, a pan-European health advocacy group, calls for universal access to the vaccines regardless of gender, citing protection against HPV infections in men, who tend to have poorer immune responses to the disease. Universal vaccination also helps dispel notions that vaccines encourage promiscuity in women. Vaccinating men can help the overall population reach herd immunity, when even unvaccinated individuals are safe because no one else around them has the disease.
A 2024 study estimates that Taiwan could eliminate cervical cancer by 2050 based on current data. The success of the HPV vaccination campaign follows recent news that Taiwan has effectively eliminated Hepatitis C through national health insurance coverage of drug treatment and expanded screening age. These milestones demonstrate the effectiveness of expanding public health campaigns to include more people, ultimately leading to the elimination of diseases.
The inclusion of boys in Taiwan's HPV vaccination program reinforces the notion that protecting women from deadly cancer benefits from vaccinating men, creating a collectively healthy public where every person is better protected. ◼