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Govt expands national immunization with free HPV vaccine
The move comes as the government shifts to preventing rather than treating disease in its public health approach.
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A girl receives Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 18, 2022 at an elementary school in Banda Aceh, Aceh . The government has announced it is expanding the national childhood immunization program to include the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a preventive measure against cervical cancer. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
T
he government has announced it is providing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for free as part of the national childhood immunization program.
The move aims to reduce the risk of cervical cancer among women, and comes as the government places more emphasis on preventive instead of curative treatments in addressing the country’s health challenges.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told journalists on Friday that the HPV vaccination program was geared towards ensuring that the government provided effective public health intervention.
“[The most] affordable and effective health interventions are the early measures,” said Budi.
“Just like COVID-19, if we intervene through vaccination and mask-wearing and physical distancing [to curb its spread], we would spend less money compared to [...] intervention measures at the hospitals.”
Read also: Deadly yet preventable: Cervical cancer screening, vaccination affected by COVID-19
He said the HPV vaccine would be administered to female students in grades 5 and 6 of elementary school, underlining that the vaccine was most effective in preventing HPV if they were administered before girls started menstruating.
