Cuba to Vaccinate Nine-Year-Old Girls Against HPV

Health authorities announced the inclusion of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the National Immunization Program. With vaccination for all nine-year-old girls in Cuba.

Dagmar García, deputy director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute, explained that the decision responded to the proven relationship between persistent HPV infection and cervical cancer. One of the leading causes of cancer-related death in women worldwide.

Also the specialist noted that the bivalent CECOLIN vaccine will be used. Which protects against serotypes 16 and 18, responsible for approximately 70 percent of cases of this disease.

García noted that immunization is most effective before the onset of sexual activity, which is why it was decided to administer it to nine-year-old girls. In accordance with international recommendations.

Moreover the CECOLIN vaccine, produced by the Chinese company Innovax, has been prequalified by the World Health Organization and has demonstrated safety and efficacy. The National Immunization Program, in operation since 1962.  Administers an average of 4.8 million doses of 13 types of vaccines each year, eight of which are domestically produced.

Thanks to this program, Cuba has eliminated six communicable diseases. Including polio and measles, and reduced serious complications such as congenital rubella syndrome.

With the incorporation of the HPV vaccine, the country strengthens its prevention strategy and is more than a decade ahead of the onset of cervical cancer cases in younger generations.

With information from CNA

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