Davao City provides free HPV vaccine to women

• Source: http://mindanao.politics.com.ph/davao-city-provides-free-hpv-vaccine-to-women/
• Saturday, June 2, 2018

(Politico Mindanao)

The Davao City Health Office (CHO) started Friday the five-day free vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) for women to bolster its campaign against cervical cancer.

CHO chief Dr. Josephine Villafuerte said her office has 10,000 vaccines available for those who are qualified to receive the HPV vaccine.

Those qualified are girls aged nine to 13 and women up to 45 years old.

The month of May has been designated as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in the Philippines. The campaign is backed by Proclamation No. 368, which was signed in 2003.

Villafuerte said the city government did not allocate any budget for the HPV vaccines since the Department of Health (DOH) provided them.

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. It is the second leading cause of death among women in the Philippines, next only to breast cancer.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), 12 Filipino women die from cervical cancer every day, even if it is a preventable disease, through screening and vaccination.

The WHO reported that 99 percent of cervical cancer cases, which is the most common reproductive tract viral infection, are linked to genital infection with HPV. HPV infections are transmitted through sexual contact and also through skin-to-skin contact.

Women can protect themselves from cervical cancer through sexual abstinence, monogamy, regular screening and vaccination.

Persistent genital HPV infections can cause cervical cancer in women.