Public health authorities are buying 40,000 shots, at $4.5 apiece, to continue the 2019 human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization campaign. IPN has learned from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection the batch is expected to arrive in Moldova by late May.

Annually in Moldova about 300 new cases of cervical cancer are reoported and every 2-3 days a woman dies because of the disease. The vaccine is a way to protect against multiple strains of the cancer-inducing virus.

The vaccination course consists of two shots spaced no more than 6 months apart. The Ministry says the type of vaccine purchased also protects men.

Since the national campaign started in 2017, about 65% of the girls born in 2007 and 2008 have been vaccinated, as the vaccination rate with the second shot is around 40%.