Suchergebnisse

In Japan, the serious adverse events after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination were widely reported in the media. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) announced the suspension of the governmental recommendation of HPV vaccine in 2013, and the inoculation rate has since sharply declined. The estimated inoculation rate for each birth fiscal year (FY) announced by the MHLW and the actual numbers for each birth FY surveyed by local governments were very different. In particular, the cumulative vaccination rate of girls born in FY2000 was regarded to be as high as 42.9% by the Council of the MHLW. However, this estimation included a confusion. When the suspension of the governmental recommendation was announced in FY2013, the girls born in FY2000 turned 13 years old, the targeted starting age of the HPV vaccination. The vaccination rate of this generation is considered to be quite low. The numbers were recalculated in this study. This study revealed that the real vaccination rate is only 14.3%. Female individuals born in or after FY2000 have been confirmed to be exposed to the same cervical cancer risk as before the HPV vaccine was introduced in Japan.

In Japan, the governmental recommnendation of HPV vaccine has been suspended since June 2013, due to media reports of alleged adverse vaccination events. Although evidence of effectiveness and safety of the HPV vaccine has been universally demonstrated, and the medical and academic organizations across Japan have requested the resumption of the government's recommendation, the Japanese government has not changed their official stance towards the HPV vaccine. Under the current suspension of the national government's recommendation, one local government Isumi City started sending a leaflet containing information of cervical cancer and HPV vaccine, but not recommendation for the vaccine, to the tagted girls born in the fiscal year (FY) 2003. The cumulative vaccination rate of them reached 10.07% (14/139), which was significantly higher than that (0.00%) for girls born in FY 2002 who did not receive such a leaflet (p < 0.001). We sincerely ask the national government to change their stance towards the HPV vaccine. We also strongly suggest that, in the meantime, local governments immediately begin to provide an appropriate information of cervical cancer and HPV vaccine to the targeted girls and their parents in a way similar to what Isumi City has now shown to be effective.

In 2013, recurrent reports of diverse symptoms occurring in girls after receiving HPV vaccination appeared in Japanese media. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare quickly responded by announcing a temporary suspension of its recommendation for the vaccine. The HPV vaccination rate soon fell to almost zero. In the present study, we calculated the potential future numbers of cervical cancer incidence and death that will be increased by this policy decision. We have assumed that the number of yearly vaccinations is evenly distributed across a daily basis. Future incidence and death increased in females born in FY2000 are estimated to be 3651 and 904, respectively, 4566 and 1130 for those born in FY2001, 4645 and 1150 for those born in FY2002, and 4657 and 1153 for those born in FY2003. In FY2020, the large increase of risks to females born in FY2004 amounts to 12.0 females per day who will now be at a higher risk for acquiring of cervical cancer in their future, and 3.0 females per day newly at risk for future death from that disease in its progressive form. No one should be able to accept this situation. We sincerely ask the government to resume its recommendation for the vaccine as soon as possible.

The trend for cervical cancer in younger women has been increasing recently in Japan. However, as a result of the suspension of governmental recommendation, Japan's HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination rate for girls born since 2000 has dropped sharply. We conducted an internet survey in December of 2019, 76 months after the suspension of recommendation, to verify the intention of mothers to inoculate their daughter under current circumstances and compared with our previous surveys and leaflet intervention effect. The rates of mothers who replied that they would "inoculate" were significantly higher at 9 and 23 months, but by 32 months after the suspension the rate was significantly lower (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, respectively). The rates of the mothers who replied they would not inoculate were significantly lower at 9 months and 23 months, but at 76 months was significantly higher (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, respectively). We found that intervention with a leaflet that could be used under the current suspension of the governmental recommendation did not increase the mothers' intention to inoculate their daughters. A leaflet that actively encourages vaccination may increase the intent of vaccination. It is strongly recommended that the MHLW promptly resume its recommendations for HPV vaccination.

In Japan, the government's recommendation for the HPV vaccine has been suspended for almost 8 years. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the Tsubaki Women's Clinic, Matsuyama, Japan, to examine responses of the mothers of girls eligible for HPV vaccine before and after their doctor provided them an informative leaflet explaining the need for cervical cancer prevention. Among the 53 mothers who admitted to imposing some preconditions before being willing to encourage their daughters' HPV vaccination, 21 (40%) mothers became more willing to vaccinate their daughters immediately after receiving the cervical cancer prevention linkage explanation provided by their doctor, and seven of the mothers (33%) even returned to the clinic to get their daughter vaccinated during our study period. Logistical regression analysis revealed that having initial preconditions required for their daughters' HPV vaccination was an independent variable influencing the mothers' change of willingness to get their daughters vaccinated immediately after receiving the explanation using the leaflet. We have found that to achieve maximum effectiveness, we can use an appropriate leaflet even under suspension of the governmental recommendation. Our future efforts should be focused on those mothers who are less likely to impose preconditions on their daughter's vaccination.

In Japan, the governmental recommendation for HPV vaccination was suspended in June 2013 because of media reports of so-called adverse vaccine events. The HPV vaccination rate in Japan prior to this suspension was almost 70%, but fell afterward to almost zero. To explore ways to bolster HPV vaccination, between 2014 and 2019 we conducted three serial surveys of the opinions of obstetricians and gynecologists about HPV vaccination. This study aimed to discuss the changing attitudes found in this 5-year follow-up survey. In August 2014, January 2017, and June 2019, we posted questionnaires to about 570 obstetricians and gynecologists practicing in Osaka, Japan. All three surveys used the same structured and closed-ended questionnaire, including questions about their personal opinions regarding HPV vaccination. We compared our new results to those of the previous two surveys. The response rate for the latest survey was 51.1% (293/573), which was equivalent to the previous two surveys. Among the responders, 83.3% (244/293) now thought that the Japanese government should restart its HPV vaccine recommendation, and 84.6% (248/293) were already recommending HPV vaccines for teenagers in their daily care. Eleven of 30 doctors (36.7%) had their own teenage daughters vaccinated against HPV after the suspension of recommendation. The rate has maintained an increasing trend from the previous two surveys. This study indicated that the attitude of obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan toward HPV vaccination has changed positively over 5 years. The results should serve as an encouragement to resume the governmental recommendation of HPV vaccines.