First round of HPV vaccination campaign extended
The vaccination campaign targets schoolgirls that are in Grade 5 and are 9 years old and above and is aimed at protecting girls from developing cervical cancer later in life.
The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has extended its Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign’s first round which will run until April 26 this year in all public primary schools.
This comes after the department experienced delays in the rollout of the campaign due to the Measles outbreak – which affected the rollout in some schools, as some are yet to be covered.
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The vaccination campaign targets schoolgirls that are in Grade 5 and are 9 years old and above and is aimed at protecting them from developing cervical cancer later in life.
As a result, the department is appealing to parents, caregivers, and legal guardians who have not yet signed the consent form to do so, to ensure that their children do not miss out on the HPV vaccination drive.
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Initially, the campaign was due to end on March 31.
According to the Department, there are over 200 types of HPV viruses and research has shown that HPV types 16 and 18 account for 70 percent of cases of cervical cancer.
It added that the HPV vaccine is very safe and effective in preventing the HPV infection caused by these two HPV strains mentioned above.
Meanwhile, a consent form that was signed at the beginning of the year is valid for the whole year and parents and guardians need to have ticked the boxes on the consent form for their child to be screened and vaccinated.
