Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, has made another appeal for parents to allow their children between the ages of 9 to 15-years-old to take the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, emphasizing that the vaccine guards against cervical cancer in women.

In July, the Health Ministry introduced the HPV-9 vaccine to fight cervical cancer. Some 50,000 doses have been obtained.

“Again, we want to make sure that for those boys and girls between nine and 15 that we ensure that all of them get their HPV vaccination and it is in all the different health centers across the country,” the Health Minister said recently.

The nine-valent vaccine protects against nine of the common HPV strains that cause cervical cancer and is 90 percent effective. 

The vaccine that was previously administered was quadrivalent, according to the Health Ministry, which explained that the new and enhanced version of the vaccine offers more protection.

Minister Anthony said if Guyana obtains a 90% coverage, it would be on the path to eradicating cervical cancer completely.

“For that age group, between 9 and 15, we want to move it up to at least 90 percent coverage and again what the WHO at 90% coverage, then over the next couple of years, we can start working towards eliminating cervical cancer from Guyana,” Minister Anthony said.

He reminded that at present, Cervical Cancer is the second most prevalent form of cancer among women in Guyana, trending just after Breast Cancer.

Dr. Anthony said Cervical Cancer is preventable and it is therefore important for women to take the HPV vaccine. It was noted that the HPV vaccine available in Guyana is the best on the world market.

Two doses of the vaccine are administered to young girls from ages 9-15-years-old, while women between the ages of 16 and 45 are required to take three doses.

HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the world and is responsible for a range of diseases including cervical, anal, vaginal and penile cancers.

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