Men Are Also Required to Receive the HPV Vaccine

For a long time, cervical cancer has been discussed as a women’s issue. They are advised to undergo check-ups, receive vaccines, and understand the risks that seem to have to be borne alone. In health education spaces, men are almost never mentioned. However, the virus causing it, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), does not recognise gender boundaries. It spreads from body to body contact, often without symptoms. Sofia—not her real name—once experienced a surprised response when she brought her 15-year-old son to get the HPV vaccine. Several visitors at a clinic in South Jakarta questioned that decision. They considered the HPV vaccine unnecessary for men, because cervical cancer has long been understood as a disease only related to women. “I don’t blame people for not knowing how important the HPV vaccine is for men because the fact is that socialisation about it is rarely heard, right,” Sofia told detikX. Since losing a close friend to cervical cancer, Sofia began to see this issue from a different perspective. She remembers how the disease came without many signs, and was only realised when it was too late. In their last conversation, there was a worrying suspicion of possible transmission from a partner who was never detected. That experience left a mark, and made her feel that prevention cannot only be burdened on women. Since then, Sofia has tried to seek information and give understanding to her son about HPV. The virus can spread without symptoms and men can be carriers. At that clinic, she paid around Rp 2.5 million per dose, with a total of three doses that must be completed. For her, vaccination is not just protection for her child himself, but also a preventive step so that her son in the future does not become part of the transmission chain. Lately, Sofia also learned that the HPV vaccine is not only related to cervical cancer. This vaccine can help prevent several other cancers also related to HPV, such as anal, penile, and throat cancers. That information further strengthened her decision to continue vaccinating her son. “What I can do now is prevent it from the closest people,” she emphasised. Angga—not his real name—also never really knew what HPV was. He had never heard explanations about the virus, let alone understood its impact on men. So far, the information he captured was only that cervical cancer is a women’s issue, without ever any explanation about men’s role in it. That view changed when three people he knew were diagnosed with HPV infection. That experience made him start to feel worried. “At first, I didn’t think about it at all. But when I found out my acquaintances got it, I immediately looked it up,” Angga told detikX. From there, he started researching and realised that men can also be carriers of the virus without symptoms. Angga then decided to visit one of the clinics in Jakarta. In addition to HIV and syphilis tests, he also chose to get the Gardasil 9 HPV vaccine, which is recommended because it can protect against nine types of HPV virus. The cost is not cheap, but he considers it an important step. “It’s quite expensive, but I see it as an investment, not just for myself but also for future partners,” he said. For him, prevention becomes a more sensible choice. He realises that if one day infected, it will not only affect himself, but also others. “If we’re already infected, our partner will definitely think twice. So it’s better to prevent it now,” he said. However, that experience also made him question the lack of information he received all this time. There are no campaigns specifically targeting men, no education explaining that they also play a role in HPV transmission. “All this time, no one has said that this is also important for men,” said Angga. Not only vaccines, Angga also hopes that men start to be more sensitive to their own body conditions. He believes that check-ups should no longer be considered taboo, especially when unusual signs appear in the genital or anal area. “If you suspect there’s a disease, you should get tested or checked. What I fear is that it sometimes spreads to others,” he said. According to him, indifference is still commonly found in men, either due to lack of information or reluctance to get checked. Meanwhile, unknowingly, that condition can impact not only oneself, but also partners. For Angga, awareness to get checked becomes an important part of prevention efforts that have so far often been overlooked, including cervical cancer in women. “Cervical cancer is estimated at around 36,964 cases, with 20,708 deaths. That’s why we convey one to one and a half deaths per hour,” said the Director of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Health, dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi. In fact, cervical cancer is one of the types of cancer that can actually be prevented, even eliminated. The government targets elimination through a combination of vaccination and screening. “Cervical cancer is one of the cancers that can actually be eliminated,” said Nadia. The high death rate, according to Nadia, is closely related to delayed diagnosis. Many cases are only found when they have reached advanced stages, when treatment opportunities are smaller. “Generally, it’s detected when already in advanced stages,” she stated. For that, the government targets expanding screening and vaccination coverage. By 2030, at least 75 percent of women aged 30–69 years are targeted to undergo HPV DNA screening, while vaccination coverage for children aged 11 years, both boys and girls, is targeted to reach 95 percent. “Because we want elimination, men must also be vaccinated.”