Health Ministry HPV programme halted

Mar 05, 2015 News

– official claims programme will revive “soon”

Although it was only recently rated as a success by Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, information reaching this publication is that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination programme is currently at a standstill.
While unable or unwilling to divulge exactly when the programme was halted, an official close to the Maternal and Child Health Department of the Ministry of Health confirmed that by the end of last year there were no vaccinations. This comes amidst reports that the programme which was introduced in 2012 has flopped.
In order to appease concerns circulating about the demise of the programme, the official then expressed confidence that HPV vaccines have been ordered and a shipment is likely to arrive soon in order to continue the programme. The official was, however, unable to state when the vaccines are expected to arrive. Moreover, the Ministry’s Vaccination Centre remains without HPV vaccines and thus the various health facilities are unable to offer the vaccination service.
“We don’t know when,” said the official of a date for the arrival of the vaccines.
In order to reach its target of young girls between the ages of 11 and 13, the vaccine Gardasil, was being administered at schools. The official pointed out to this publication that while the programme was intended to be offered on a national scale, there were some regions that were not benefiting from it. The official remembered that, at least, Regions Eight and 10 are among those that have not been able to gain access to the vaccine. This was due to the fact that the Vaccination Centre did not have enough vaccines to ensure that distribution reached to the two regions, said the official.
The HPV Vaccination programme, which was introduced in January 2012 as a $40 million venture, was launched at the East La Penitence Health Centre by Minister Ramsaran. He had then informed that one of the vaccines can cost as much as US$14, making it arguably the most expensive vaccination programme administered by his Ministry.
He therefore explained that the launch of the vaccine was another step by the Health Ministry to bring more services to wider sections of the population. “It is a costly venture and in the atmosphere and in the environment now where there is contracting budgets especially from international agencies, especially from our health programmes, it must be seen as a bold step,” Dr Ramsaran stated.
The programme was aimed at slashing the incidence of cervical cancer, which kills an estimated 80 Guyanese women annually. And in order to stem this health challenge, some 7,000 girls were slated to be vaccinated over a six-month period which commenced in January, 2012.
The official was, however, not in a position to speak of the number of vaccines that has thus far been administered. “I don’t know much about that but there are other persons within Maternal and Child Health who will get that tallying done,” said the official who assured that as soon as vaccines arrive the programme will be revived.
A potential impact of contracting cervical cancer is the development of other health conditions such as genital warts and even cancers of the anus, vagina and vulva. The programme was therefore launched under the theme “early detection saves lives”, and represented Guyana’s efforts to join the world in celebrating Cervical Cancer Awareness month.
Its introduction was however not without controversy.
There were some who are convinced that the vaccine is linked to the development of autism. A protesting group in a petition to the Health Minister, soon after the introduction of the programme, had called for the vaccination programme “to be terminated with immediate effect” until the questions associated with the vaccine are answered.
According to the group, their concerns were rooted in the fact that the Ministry hadn’t adequately furnished families with information about the effects of the vaccine that have the potential of emerging years later.
“We hereby request further and detailed information about the Ministry’s decision to inoculate these children against the HPV in a vaccination programme, purportedly to protect them from cervical cancer and other related diseases they are likely to contract in their adulthood,” the petition outlined.
Despite the concerns raised, Government has insisted that the HPV vaccine will continue to be administered to girls from age 11 “along with intensive sensitisation programmes” in order to alleviate the occurrence of cervical cancer.

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