A Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare subcommittee concluded after discussion on Aug. 4 that regular vaccination with the nine-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is not scientifically problematic and that the timing of the start of vaccination and the target population for vaccination, etc., will be discussed at a special meeting at a higher level in the future to formally decide on implementation.
The subcommittee also began discussing regular quadrivalent vaccination for men on the same day.
HPV can cause cancer that can also affect men, such as anal cancer. It is reported that recently, the father of the HPV vaccine, Harald Chur Hausen, said in a media interview that men do not get cervical cancer, but they are the main transmitters of the HPV factor, and that vaccination of men against HPV can first protect their partners, and secondly, because the HPV virus can also cause other cancers, vaccination can also protect themselves.
Some countries are already promoting public vaccination against HPV in men. The CDC reported in 2019 that the HPV vaccine can prevent more than 90% of cancers caused by the human papillomavirus, calling for an increase in HPV vaccination rates to 80% across the United States and recommending that all children between the ages of 11 and 12 receive the HPV vaccine. The UK government has said in 2019 that it will vaccinate male children against HPV.
Currently, the vaccine approved in China is for female vaccination.
