Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Campaign 2014
The City of Johannesburg will be targeting to reach about 29 700 grade four learners in 484 primary schools within Johannesburg.
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – The City of Johannesburg Health Department together with Gauteng Department of Health will be embarking on a massive campaign to provide the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among school-going girls.
The campaign will be conducted under the theme ‘Protecting South African Girls against Cancer of the Cervix’. It will be administered in a schedule of two doses at a six months interval, targeting all young girls in grade four, who are nine to twelve yearsold, in all public and special schools.
The first dose (HPV1) will be administered from March 10 to April 11 and the HPV2 (second dose) will be administered from September 29 to October 24.
The purpose of this intervention is to implement the one of the four basic components of cervical cancer control, namely primary prevention.
The City of Johannesburg will be targeting to reach about 29 700 grade four learners in 484 primary schools within Johannesburg.
Almost 80 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The virus can infect the genital area and cause from something small like a genital wart to cervical and other cancers. The vaccination prevents the infection of the cervix by the Human Papilloma Virus.
“The Department of Health teams will visit public and special education schools during the campaign to administer free HPV vaccination to girls in grade four in 2014 and who are nine to twelve years old,” said Clr Nonceba Molwele, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development in the City of Johannesburg.
“Parents need to ensure that they have signed and returned the consent forms, which they will receive from the school that their children attend,” emphasised MMC Molwele.
