KATHMANDU, Sept 19: The period of HPV vaccination against cervical cancer campaign for teenage girls has been extended.
Dr Abhiyaan Gautam, chief of the Child Health and Immunization Section of the Department of Health Services, stated that the vaccination campaign will be conducted till September 22. He said, "The time has been extended because all the targeted girls are yet to be vaccinated."
According to him, only 40 percent of the target girls have been vaccinated due to the closure of schools on consecutive holidays for September 15 (Children's Day), September 16 (Saturday) and September 18 (Haritalika Teej).
Govt launches HPV vaccination campaign to combat cervical cance...
The government has set a target of administering the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine to 9,999 adolescent girls, which is administered as a preventive measure against cervical cancer. On August 27, the vaccine campaign was launched in seven different hospitals across all seven provinces, targeting girls who have completed 14 years and have not yet reached 15 years of age. The HPV vaccine campaign is being conducted as a ‘demonstration project’ to protect these girls from cervical cancer.
The ministry has requested the parents of all teenage girls to take them to the vaccination centers for vaccination. Vaccines will be administered to teenagers born between September 15, 2008 and September 5, 2009.
Dr Gautam said that the vaccine is being administered to protect women from cervical cancer. The government has made the HPV vaccine available at seven different hospitals across all seven provinces since September 13. These hospitals include Koshi Hospital in Koshi Province, Narayani Hospital in Madhesh Province, Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital in Bagmati Province, Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences in Gandaki Province, Bheri Hospital in Lumbini Province, Surkhet Provincial Hospital in Karnali Province, and Dadeldhura Hospital in Sudurpaschim Province.
The first dose of the vaccine will be administered now and the second dose will be given six months later. These twin doses of the HPV vaccine are said to provide 95 percent protection against cervical cancer. Earlier, the government conducted a sample vaccination against cervical cancer in Chitwan and Kaski in 2016-17. Cervical cancer is said to be caused by unsafe sex, smoking and early marriage.
