In June 2018 the German Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) endorsed the following recommendation: The STIKO recommends vaccination of boys aged 9–14 years against human papillomavirus (HPV). Immunization should take place before the first sexual contact. Like HPV vaccination for girls, two vaccine doses at least 5 months apart are needed at the age of 9–14 years. If the first HPV vaccine dose is given at the age of 15 years or older, three vaccine doses are needed. Catch-up vaccination should take place up to the age of 17 years. The aim of vaccinating girls and boys is to reduce the disease burden of HPV-associated tumours.
This paper presents the scientific background of this recommendation, including the results of literature reviews and the grading of the quality of the available evidence.
A German version of this paper is available in the Epidemiologische Bulletin 26/2018.
- Background paper
- Europe
- Germany
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
