China Administers First HPV Vaccine Dose to Men

Changsha  — The Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in central China reported the country’s first HPV vaccine dose administered to a man on Thursday afternoon (Jan. 9) in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province.

This marked the first case of a male receiving the HPV vaccine on the Chinese mainland, following Merck’s announcement that its Gardasil vaccine, which protects against four HPV strains, had received expanded approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration.

Currently, the Gardasil vaccine, previously approved for use in women on the Chinese mainland, is now available for males aged 9 to 26. It offers protection against HPV types 16 and 18, known to cause anal cancer, as well as types 6 and 11, which are linked to genital warts. Gardasil remains the first and only HPV vaccine approved for use in men in China.

Chen Xi, a professor at the Hunan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasized that HPV remains a major global public health concern, as it not only causes cervical cancer in women but also contributes to various types of malignant tumors in men.

The National Health Commission of China highlighted that vaccinating men is equally critical in combating HPV transmission. Although vaccinating women remains the primary approach, providing some indirect protection to men, relying solely on this strategy is insufficient to effectively curb HPV-related diseases.

Moreover, China has been striving to further open its healthcare sector and attract more global pharmaceutical companies to invest in its market. In September 2024, China announced exemptions on import duties and value-added taxes for medicines and medical devices in designated pilot medical zones in Hainan Province, with plans to fully implement this policy before 2025.

Sources:

- Xinhua News

- ArokaGO Health Library – HPV Infection Symptoms