Today, January 31, the Government of Latvia supported the amendments to the “Vaccination Regulations”, which envisage continuing the vaccination of boys against the human papillomavirus (CPV) in 2023, as well as the vaccination of teenagers and pregnant women against whooping cough.
Funding from the state budget was found in order to continue the measures included in the vaccination calendar, which were started in 2022. Thus, the “Vaccination Regulations” provide for the state budget funds in 2023 as well to ensure:
vaccination against human papillomavirus infection in boys aged 12 to 14 years (inclusive);
pertussis vaccination for 14-year-old children and pregnant women.
As experts emphasize, in order for vaccination to protect boys from male cancers caused by CPV, vaccination against CPV must be continued. Also, vaccination of pregnant women against pertussis should be continued to protect infants from pertussis until they reach vaccination age, as well as pertussis vaccination of adolescents should be continued to reduce the overall incidence of pertussis.
The data show that the CPV vaccination coverage of boys in 2022 for the 1st round was 51.8%, while 8.6% completed the course. In 2022, however, 2,444 pregnant women and 14,193 teenagers (72.5%) were vaccinated against pertussis.
