This year, the government has decided that both men and women born between 1996 and 2003 can have an HPV vaccination for free. Yet the number of people actually getting the shot seems to be disappointing.

Major consequences
Rolling out this vaccination programme, GGD Zuid-Limburg, sees that the vaccination coverage in Zuid-Limburg is currently at 17 per cent. Nationally, it is just under 20. According to the GGD, a high vaccination rate can have a big impact: "In countries where the vaccination rate is 95 per cent, cervical cancer is almost non-existent," explains project leader Angelique Lahaut.

Drawing attention
According to GGD Zuid-Limburg, they do a lot to get people to take the vaccination: "Regular attention is paid to it on the radio, low-threshold campaigns via posters, social media. In all kinds of ways, we try to generate attention to it in the right way."

The HPV virus can cause several types of cancer such as cervical, penile and anal cancer.

Read the original article in Dutch