Health ministry now targeting boys for HPV vaccine

Western Bureau:

Dr Marcia Graham, the medical officer of health for Westmoreland, says the Ministry of Health and Wellness is now vaccinating boys between the ages of nine and 14 to prevent the spread of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), saying that the initiative will save lives.

Graham made the revelation yesterday while delivering her report at the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, where she provided details about the initiative and outlined why it was important to target boys in the age group.

As it relates to the vaccine, Graham said that formerly, two doses were given, but it has since been reduced to one across the board, noting that the health department is now offering a more comprehensive approach to the prevention of the spread of HPV through the administration of appropriate vaccines.

“That (vaccine) has been reduced to just one dose,” said Graham, regarding all the persons who are being vaccinated.

“We are offering it to boys in the age group 9-14 years because they are at risk for genital warts that this virus can cause, and if they get infected, when they have sexual relations with girls they can infect the girls, and they get cervical cancer.”

Additionally, Graham said that in addition to boys, females upwards of 26 years of age can now get the vaccine as part of maximising the protective shield against the virus.

Jamaica has a population of approximately 1.15 million women, ages 15 years and older, who are at risk of developing cervical cancer. The current estimates indicate that every year, 386 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 247 die from the disease.

POWER OF VACCINE

Graham believes that HPV can be eliminated through vaccines. She said that initially, the HPV vaccine was offered to females, particularly girls in the nine to 15 years old age group, who were given two doses.

In a bid to conquer HPV globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that HPV vaccines be included in national immunisation programmes as a core strategy for the primary prevention of cervical cancer. They are of the view that the HPV vaccination for nine- to 14-year-old girls is the most cost-effective public health measure against cervical cancer.

HPV vaccination in Jamaica is part of a coordinated and comprehensive approach to cervical cancer control that also includes secondary prevention through screening (Pap smears) and treatment of adult women for pre-cancers and tertiary and palliative care for women affected by cervical cancer.

In October 2017, the Ministry of Health introduced the bivalent HPV vaccine to girls at the grade-seven level in local schools as a protection measure against HPV types 16 and 18.