DOH: Free HPV vaccination for girls in 2025
Metro Manila, Philippines - The Department of Health will offer free vaccination for the human papillomavirus (HPV) that usually causes cervical cancer in 2025.
“Ang isang nahingi ko kay President BBM, pondohan lahat ng nine-year-old girls for HPV vaccines,” Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a media forum on Tuesday, Dec. 17. “P4,000 isang dose nito, two doses ito, at pumayag si BBM.”
[Translation: What I got from the president is to fund all HPV vaccines for nine-year-old girls. A dose costs P4,000. We will inoculate two doses. Marcos has approved of it.]
The HPV vaccine is part of the school-based immunization program the DOH and Department of Education conducted in October to November.
As of Dec. 13, a total of 505,010 students were inoculated, according to DOH data. This is 64.48% of target.
“Sayang, ‘no, mababa pa rin [It’s a pity, it’s still low],” Herbosa said. “We had available vaccines for as much as 40% more, so we continue to give the HPV vaccine. Umiikot ako ngayon in other areas, nagbabakuna ako ng HPV [I’m going around in other areas to give HPV shots] in what we call my DOH Kalusugan Caravan.”
Caraga had the highest accomplishment rate for HPV vaccination in Grade 4 pupils at 123.18%, followed by Ilocos region at 100.48% and Northern Mindanao at 99.60%. Metro Manila, meanwhile, had the lowest rate at 25.88%.
‘Bakuna Eskwela’
In launching the national school-based immunization program called “Bakuna Eskwela,” the DOH also inoculated 1,110,698 Grade 1 students (67.63%) and 939,062 Grade 7 students (59.92%) against measles and rubella.
For tetanus diphtheria, the DOH said 1,106,389 Grade 1 learners (67.37%) and 937,056 learners (59.75%) received vaccines.
Cordillera Administrative Region had the highest vaccination rate in Grade 1 pupils while Northern Mindanao for Grade 7 students.
Herbosa said health officials are making efforts to convince parents to let their children be vaccinated amid “strong” voices of anti-vaxxers in social media.
“The DOH recommends and highly encourages the LGUs on extending its implementation until the end of December 2024 also through community-based immunization in order to improve vaccination coverage, and prevent occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases,” the agency also said.
