The city and provincial departments of health will continue a vaccination programme for school girls to protect them against cervical cancer.
The programme started last year and is an annual campaign that targets Grade 4 girls who are nine years or older to protect them against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV). Under this year’s theme, Protecting South African Girls against Cancer of the Cervix, the vaccination will be administered in two doses at six-month intervals and performed in all public and special schools.
The first dose (HPV1) will be administered from 23 February to 20 March and the second dose (HPV2) from 29 September to 31 October.
HPV is said to cause almost 80 percent of cervical cancers and can infect the genital area, cause genital/cervical warts and other cancers. The vaccination prevents the virus from developing.
Councillor Nonceba Molwele, MMC for Health and Social Development, urged parents to ensure that they have signed and returned consent forms to the schools. She stressed that no girl would be vaccinated without parental consent.
Details: Nkosinathi Nkabinde, City of Joburg; 011 407 6477, E-mail: nkosinathin@joburg.org.za
Filler: Do you think this vaccination is necessary? Do you think the girls are too young to receive this vaccination? Comment on the Alex News Facebook page
