Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa announced on Thursday, Jan. 16 that President Marcos has approved funding for the free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for Filipino girls to prevent fatal diseases, including cervical cancer.
“Ang hiningi ko kay Presidente, at ibinigay naman ay i-budget na ang human papillomavirus or HPV vaccination sa lahat ng batang babae; very important, kasi mahal iyong HPV vaccination, P4,000 per dose, two doses, P8,000 per nine-year-old girl (What I asked from the President, and he granted, was to allocate a budget for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for all young girls. This is very important because the HPV vaccination is expensive— P4,000 per dose, two doses, amounting to P8,000 per nine-year-old girl),” he said during a televised interview in state-controlled PTV-4.
“Pinondohan na ako ni President for 2025. For 2025, we can vaccinate all Filipina girls and ang effect niyan, mawawala ang cervical cancer (The President has already allocated funding for me for 2025. For 2025, we can vaccinate all Filipina girls, and the effect of that will be the elimination of cervical cancer),” he added.
Herbosa said that Filipino boys should also be inoculated with the HPV vaccine, saying that other countries have started immunizing boys after they diminished the number of their cervical cancer.
Per the WHO, HPV is a small, non-enveloped DNA virus that infects skin or mucosal cells.
Among the more than 100 known HPV genotypes, at least 13 are associated with cancer development, particularly cervical cancer, as well as other anogenital and head and neck cancers.
The Department of Health (DOH) chief stated that the DOH seeks to enhance its immunization program to raise the immunization rate among Filipino children from the current 60 percent to 95 percent.
“Ang mababa tayo sa 60 percent ng children, kasi tumaas iyong anti-vaxxer, at mababa rin iyong subsequent doses (We are low at 60 percent for children because anti-vaxxer sentiments have increased, and subsequent doses are also low),” he said.
“Madami pa tayong zero dose, so iyon ang kino-correct namin, mawala ang zero dose children at ang next na iko-correct namin, ma-reach iyong 95 percent immunized children para may herd immunity (We still have many zero-dose children, so we are addressing that by eliminating zero-dose cases. Our next goal is to achieve 95 percent immunized children to establish herd immunity).”
The WHO recommends that HPV vaccines be included in routine immunization programs for girls aged nine to 14 years, before the onset of sexual activity, as this age group derives the most benefit from vaccination.
HPV vaccination, according to WHO, is most effective when combined with regular cervical cancer screening and other preventive measures.