Taizhou city steps up HPV vaccination drive for schoolgirls

The municipal government of Taizhou city – located in East China's Jiangsu province – is prioritizing HPV vaccinations for school-aged girls in the current year.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in women and the vaccination protects individuals from various types of the infection that can cause different cancers.

According to Ren Qingyang, head of Taizhou's women and children's health department, vaccinations were scheduled to start on April 13, offering a variety of vaccines including free and paid options.

Xie Yan, head of the immunization planning department at the Taizhou municipal center for disease control and prevention, stressed the need for vaccine traceability.

Students can receive bivalent, quadrivalent, or nonavalent HPV vaccines. The bivalent vaccine requires two doses, with the first by April's end and the second six months later. Yan assured people there was an ample vaccine supply for eligible school-aged girls.

In mid to late March, Taizhou schools started registering junior high first-year female students for HPV vaccination. The program, managed by schools and medical facilities, covers Taizhou residents born after Sept 1, 2010. Students with vaccination contraindications or those who completed the full course are not eligible.

While the domestically produced bivalent HPV vaccine is provided free of charge, recipients opting for the quadrivalent or nonavalent HPV vaccines will incur expenses based on voluntary selection and self-payment criteria.

A Taizhou municipal center for disease control and prevention official scans the vaccines for inventory management. [Photo/tznews.cn]