In a meta-analysis of European males aged ≥15 years, the prevalence of genital HPV infection in the male population was 12.4%, and the prevalence of males with a high risk of HPV infection was 30.9%.

In traditional concepts, many people generally associate women with cervical cancer, but ignore the fact that men can also be infected with HPV, and the infection rate is even higher than that of women.

This discovery is like women who have been unilaterally defending against HPV (getting HPV vaccines) for many years, and then found that there is a big bug next to their pillows!

However, men do not want to get vaccinated, but currently HPV vaccines are mostly for women of appropriate age, and everyone is actually very concerned about the planning of HPV vaccination in the future.

Why is HPV vaccine so popular?

Because cancer is the nemesis of human longevity. If there is no cancer, the average life expectancy can take a big step forward.

For the current medical level of human beings, many cancers are called terminal illnesses because only a few can be cured.

However, among a few types of cancer, humans have invented vaccines that can prevent cancer, that is, HPV vaccines, which is also the only malignant tumor that can be prevented at present.

HPV vaccine can prevent cervical cancer, which is a cancer caused by high-risk HPV virus and is the second most common female malignant tumor in the world.

According to data released by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, in 2020, there were about 110,000 new cases of cervical cancer in my country and about 59,000 deaths.

If they were not infected with HPV virus, then these 59,000 women would be fine.

The full name of HPV is human papillomavirus, which is mainly transmitted through sexual contact. It is a common virus in the human population and has a large-scale infection phenomenon.

Among them, about 90% of people, their immune systems can automatically eliminate the HPV virus that invades the body within 6 to 12 months, and no treatment is required.

There are also about 10% of infected people who cannot eliminate the virus. Once they have a long-term cold HPV virus, these viruses will stimulate the canceration of cells in the body, eventually leading to precancerous lesions or even cancer.

Is it necessary to get the HPV vaccine?

After understanding the effect of the HPV vaccine, I believe everyone will have an answer to this question.

If women get HPV vaccines before their first sexual intercourse, they can prevent 70%-90% of cervical cancer, and the antibodies can have a long protection period.

For example, it is known that the antibodies of bivalent and quadrivalent vaccines can protect for at least 10 years (data from The Lancet - Infectious Diseases).

Although women are given priority for vaccination, if men are vaccinated, it can not only prevent penile cancer and anal cancer, but also prevent the transmission of HPV virus to partners.

Considering that once you have sex, the risk of HPV infection will be much higher, so there is an optimal age for HPV vaccination. The best age for HPV vaccination in my country is 9-14 years old.

The immune system at this stage is the strongest and can produce high-quality and long-lasting antibodies.

Of course, whether you are over the age or have already had sex, you can get vaccinated, and it can play a preventive role.

At present, my country has vaccination ages for nine-valent, four-valent and two-valent vaccines:

Nine-valent: 16-26 years old; four-valent: 20-45 years old; two-valent: 9-45 years old

If the age is appropriate and the economic situation allows, the nine-valent vaccine can be vaccinated; but if the economic situation does not allow or if you are over 26 years old, it is better to get the two-valent or four-valent vaccine first.

Since HPV vaccine belongs to Class II vaccine, that is, voluntary vaccination at one's own expense, not all community hospitals and community health service centers provide vaccination services. Currently, vaccination is mainly carried out in social security community hospital health service centers.

In addition, the domestic two-valent vaccine has been launched for a long time, and the supply is not tight. The four-valent and nine-valent vaccines are still imported vaccines, and the supply is in short supply. It is still necessary to make an appointment in advance. It is understood that the supply of imported vaccines is allocated according to population density.

The vaccine that costs several thousand yuan for three injections may not matter to white-collar workers in big cities, but for many people in prefecture-level cities or counties, it is not so popular and the price is not cheap. Therefore, there are relatively few people who inject this vaccine, and the supply is not so tight, so it is easier to make an appointment.

If you want to get vaccinated, but it is difficult to make an appointment in your city, you might as well go back to your hometown to make an appointment. In short, the earlier the vaccine is, the earlier the protection.

However, one thing everyone should also be clear about is that even if you have received the HPV vaccine, it cannot be said that cervical cancer can be prevented 100%.

Because the current vaccines do not contain all the viral genotypes that may cause cervical cancer, even if you have been vaccinated, you should not take it lightly. You still need to regularly screen for cervical cancer and do a good job of disease protection.

The commonly used screening methods in China are mainly liquid-based thin-layer cell examination (TCT test) and HPV test to see if they are infected with high-risk viruses;

Especially older women who cannot be vaccinated should be screened every year, and younger women can be screened every 3 years.

Once regular screening finds a problem, timely treatment or cure can be achieved, and good disease protection can serve as an economic bottom to help everyone resist sudden risks.

In fact, getting vaccinated is like buying insurance. It is recommended that friends who have the conditions get vaccinated as soon as possible, get vaccinated early and prevent early, and at the same time, get protection as soon as possible.

There are some reminders for everyone about buying insurance:

? If you are not infected with HPV virus, you can buy it according to the product requirements;

? If you have been infected with HPV, you need to check whether the cervical cells are abnormal in combination with TCT. Not all HPV positives are high-risk, and the insurance company is most worried about cervical cancer caused by high-risk viruses.

Therefore, generally speaking, there will be the following situations:

Critical illness insurance: mainly combined with TCT examination, if TCT is normal, HPV positive may exclude liability coverage such as cervical cancer and cervical carcinoma in situ.

Medical insurance: HPV positive and no abnormalities in recent examinations, most of the liability is excluded.

Life insurance: Most life insurance can be covered normally, and health declaration will not be inquired.

Accident insurance: Most accident insurance does not have health declaration, so you can buy it directly.