Almost 34,000 Prathom 5 schoolgirls to get anti-HPV vaccine
A total of 33,962 Prathom 5 schoolgirls from 875 schools in Bangkok will receive the first shot of vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV) this August, Department of Disease Control (DDC) director Dr Jessada Chokdamrongsuk said on Tuesday.
The vaccine will be given in two dosages, six months apart, to schoolgirls from Bangkok schools, including equivalent level pupils at private or international schools.
The project is a collaboration between the DDC, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)'s Health Department, the National Health Security Office (NHSO)'s 13th branch office.
About 400,000 Prathom 5 schoolgirls nationwide will receive the first shot of HPV vaccine also in August in a bid to prevent cervical cancer, the second most common cause of death by illness in Thai women, he said.
Thailand had about 6,000 new cases of cervical cancer per year and the death rate was about 3,000 a year, he added.
BMA's Health Department deputy chief Dr Wongwat Liewlak said the vaccine is safe and many schoolgirls in Bangkok had received the HPV vaccines in the past two years and they did not develop any serious side effects.
The comments were made during a workshop held at Miracle Grand Convention Hotel in Bangkok for concerned school directors and teachers to understand the project.
Prathom 5 girls, aged 11-12, were deemed the most suitable group for HPV vaccination as per the World Health Organisation recommendation.
The vaccine would protect against the two high-risk HPV types (types 16 and 18), which caused 70 per cent of cervical cancer in women.