KARACHI: Pakistan has vaccinated about 9 million adolescent girls against the virus that causes cervical cancer, as part of a continuing national campaign that has overcome early setbacks fueled by skeptics online, the health minister said Friday. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the campaign that began Sept. 15 is aiming to vaccinate 13 million girls aged 9 to 14 against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes most cervical cancers. He said the program so far achieved 70% of its goal. The program has overcome what Kamal said were baseless rumors spread by some parents that the vaccine could cause infertility. He gave the vaccine to his own daughter live on stage at an event in Karachi this week to build confidence. &ldquo;By the grace of God, administering the vaccine to my daughter publicly had a huge impact,&rdquo; Kamal told The Associated Press. &ldquo;From the fifth day of the campaign, refusal rates began dropping and acceptance climbed to 70&ndash;80% in some districts.&rdquo; However, many parents are still reluctant. &ldquo;I have heard that the vaccination is being used to make women infertile and reduce the population of Muslims,&rdquo; said Ali Sheikh, a mother of two in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. She said that &ldquo;social media is full of such claims,&rdquo; and that she was advised by relatives not to allow health workers to vaccinate her daughters. Health worker Shamim Anwar, 52, said the job of administering the vaccines has been exhausting. &ldquo;It is very difficult work. Many parents refuse because of rumors and hesitate to let us vaccinate their daughters,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Sometimes we even face humiliation, but we tolerate it because we have to complete the vaccination target,&rdquo; she said, as she went door-to-door for the campaign in Karachi. Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among Pakistani women after breast and ovarian cancers. Globally, it is the fourth most common. Each year, between 18,000 and 20,000 women in Pakistan die of the disease, according to health authorities. Experts promoted the campaign under the slogan &ldquo;one jab will do the job.&rdquo; Authorities set up vaccination centers and deployed teams to schools nationwide to reach as many girls as possible. Kamal acknowledged that during the first days of the drive, refusals outnumbered acceptances, fueled by false claims that the vaccine campaign is a Western plot to cause infertility. Officials say the vaccine, offered free of charge, typically causes only minor side effects. The 13 million girls targeted in the initial campaign were in Punjab and Sindh provinces and in Pakistan-held Kashmir. The country plans to expand the coverage to additional areas by 2027, hoping to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030. It became the 149th country to add the HPV vaccine to its immunization schedule.

Health

Pakistan has vaccinated 9 million girls against HPV in a national campaign aiming for 13 million. Despite rumors linking the vaccine to infertility, uptake rose after Health Minister Mustafa Kamal publicly vaccinated his daughter to build confidence.

Pakistan vaccinates 9 million girls against cervical cancer despite online backlash

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched a nationwide vaccination campaign against human papillomavirus (HPV), aiming to immunize 4.1 million girls aged nine to 14 across all four provinces to prevent cervical cancer, health officials said on Monday.&nbsp;The vaccination drive will run from September 15-27. It will focus on immunizing both, school-going and out-of-school girls. Vaccinations will be administered at Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) centers, schools, and through mobile outreach teams; supported by over 3,000 mostly female vaccinators, data operators, social mobilizers, and assistants.&nbsp;A digital tracking system, called the Sindh Immunisation Electronic Record System, was deployed in southern Pakistan to enroll girls and monitor vaccination status over time. This will ensure a long-term assessment of vaccine effectiveness, officials said. Emergency medical support, including ambulances, will accompany teams to handle rare adverse reactions.&nbsp;Cervical cancer cases risingHPV causes 80-90% of cervical cancer cases. Its cases have been increasing each year in Pakistan, where about 5,000 new cervical cancer cases are diagnosed annually. Over 3,000 preventable deaths occur each year.&nbsp;The vaccine will be offered free of charge as a single dose to reduce dropout rates. It will become part of Pakistan&rsquo;s routine immunization schedule in 2026, starting with nine-year-old girls.&nbsp;&nbsp;Health experts talked about the importance of screening in addition to vaccination, recommending women undergo cervical cancer screening twice in their lifetime, at ages 35 and 45. Tests such as pap smears and HPV DNA testing are encouraged.&nbsp;The World Health Organization (WHO) reported last month that it has trained over 49,000 health workers across Pakistan. The effort covers Punjab, Sindh, the Islamabad Capital Territory, and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Expansion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is planned for 2026, with Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan to follow in 2027.&nbsp;WHO officials described the vaccination campaign as a critical step towards the global goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030, which calls for 90% of girls vaccinated by age 15, 70% of women screened, and 90% of cancer cases receiving treatment.&nbsp;&ldquo;By protecting girls today, Pakistan is reducing future cervical cancer deaths,&rdquo; said a WHO representative.&nbsp;

Pakistan launches nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targeting young girls

The vaccination drive will run from September 15-27, focusing on immunizing 4.1 million girls aged nine to 14 across Pakistan.

Articles tagged with "HPV vaccines"

Pakistan vaccinates 9 million girls against cervical cancer despite online backlash

Pakistan launches nationwide HPV vaccination campaign for young girls