The free vaccination against human papilloma viruses (HPV), which has been part of the public vaccination program of the federal government, the federal states and the social insurance providers since February 1, 2023, is now to be extended to the age of 30 instead of the age of 21. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens), City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) and ÖGK deputy chairman Andreas Huss announced this on Monday at a press conference in front of the University of Vienna. According to information from the Ministry of Health, human papilloma viruses are omnipresent: at least 80 percent of all women and men would become infected with HPV in the course of their lives. Across the EU, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women aged 15 to 44; scientific studies show that human papilloma viruses (HPV) are responsible for 90 percent of cases.
