Georgetown : The Government of Guyana is making available Gardasil, a vaccine that guards against cervical cancer, genital warts and has been shown to protect against cancers of the anus, vagina and vulva.
Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that vaccination is one of the main measures used to prevent certain diseases. Importantly, prevention of the disease protects the health and wellbeing of the person concerned and at the same time it has an impact on the country’s economy.
“This is a new vaccine being introduced. We already have a robust immunization programme with some 16 vaccines being available in our public health system to vaccinate our kids against preventable childhood diseases and this is an addition,” he said.
Minister Ramsaran explained that the vaccine against HPV is aimed particularly at protecting the health of young women between 11 – 13 years old. The effect of the vaccine will be seen several years from now when the targeted age group will reflect a reduction in the number of cervical cancer cases.
The vaccine is scheduled to be launched into the health care system on January 11th, following which it will be rolled out with 20,400 doses, to be administered in three doses over a six month period, at primary schools and health centres in Regions 3, 4, 5 and 6.
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