HPV Vaccination Campaign underway
As of today, the City of Johannesburg Health Department and the Gauteng Department of Health are set to start visiting schools to administer the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination to girls in Grade Four.
Councillor Nonceba Molewele, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development of the City said the Department of Health teams will visit pupils in public schools including special schools.
The campaign is targeting all young girls in Grade Four who are nine-years-old and older.
The free vaccine will be given in two doses at six month intervals and the first dose (HPV1) will be administered from February 23 to March 20.
The second dose (HPV2) will take place from September 29 to October 31.
Molewele said parents need to ensure they have signed and returned consent forms which they will receive from their children’s school as no girl will be vaccinated without consent.
The department said the campaign started last year as almost 80 percent of cervical cancers are caused by the HPV therefore since the disease can affect genital areas and cause genital warts or cervical and other cancers, the vaccination prevents this virus from developing on the cervix.
This year the department’s theme is ‘Protecting South African Girls against Cancer of the Cervix’.
