HPV vaccination programme for girls aged 9-12 to begin in Aug-Sept

According to the coordination meeting on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccina­tion held at the Ministry of Health in Nay Pyi Taw on 22 August, the HPV vaccine will be administered to girls aged between 9 and 12 in August and September.

Activities such as compiling the list of girls eligible for HPV vaccination, sending invitation letters to girls who will receive vaccinations, obtaining consent from parents or guardians, assisting in the preparation of vaccination centers, and ensuring organized vaccination sites will be conducted through the cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health urges young women to prevent the virus by regularly getting the vaccine, as it will be admin­istered to the public in October after a school-based vaccination programme.

The cervical cancer vaccine can re­duce the rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in young girls by 83 per cent. The vaccine to be given can protect against four types of HPV virus and will prevent 95 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

According to the World Health Organ­ization’s (WHO) announcement in August 2022, vaccination programmes are being implemented nationwide in Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Bhu­tan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.

WHO statistics stated that the global incidence rate of cervical cancer is 130.3 cases per 100,000 women, with 6.9 deaths from the disease. — TWA/CT