One more vaccine to be added to National Vaccination Calendar

01.11.2018 09:38
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The program of vaccination of girls born in 2007 and 2008 against the human papillomavirus (HPV) that was launched in December 2017 is considered a success and this encourages the introduction of the HPV vaccine of 2019 in the National Vaccination Calendar. In a response to an inquiry made by IPN, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection said the authorities are taking measures to add the HPV vaccine to the National Immunization Program.

The implementation of the vaccine was preliminarily assessed by experts of the World Health Organization. The final report will be transmitted to the Ministry in November. Between December 2017 and September 30 this year, over 22,000 girls born in 2007 and 2008 were vaccinated with the first shot and almost 9,000 girls were vaccinated with the second shot.

According to reports, 16,400 HPV shots were available on October 1. These are sufficient to complete the vaccination of girls born in 2007 and 2008. A new consignment of vaccines for girls born in 2009 is to be bought in 2019.

The Ministry noted the scientific researches conducted in the states that implemented the vaccine for a period confirmed its efficiently and safety. A study showed the HPV vaccination in Australia led to a dramatic decline in the future incidence of cervical cancer. During 40 years, the number of new cases is projected to decrease to “only several ones”, with full elimination being possible only by vaccination.

Researches carried out in a number of states revealed that almost 80% of the population will get infected with HPV in the course of life. Only vaccination is now a safe protection method. It is very important to prevent the infections caused by the human papillomavirus that lead to the development of cervical cancer, genital warts and other cancers that cause major suffering and premature death.

The vaccination course consists of the administration of two shots at a distance of at least six months from each other. The vaccine prevents infection with oncogenic strains HPV 16 and HPV 18 that cause over 70-90% of the cases of cervical cancer and HPV 6 and HPV 11 that cause 90% of genital warts. Additionally, the vaccine generates cross-immunity for cancers caused by HPV 31, HPV 33 and HPV 45 that cause another 13% of cancers and ensure protection for men as well.