GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony says the low adoption rate of HPC vaccines in Guyana has become a cause for concern even as cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in the country.
Health authorities said that the vaccines are a vital safeguard against HPV infections and cervical pre-cancers.
Speaking at the launch of the national expansion of the HEARTS Initiative for the management of cardiovascular diseases, Dr. Anthony noted that since the program’s introduction in Guyana, the number of persons vaccinated remains at a minimum.
“It’s not a lack of resources … we have to start by getting more people to take HPV vaccines,” he said, noting, “How are we going to prevent cervical cancer from happening if we don’t have a broad base program?
“This is something; I recall HPV vaccination was started…a long time ago. Up to now, we have not been able to scale it up to where it ought to be,” Dr. Anthony said, emphasizing the critical need for medical professionals to reevaluate the program’s implementation, recognizing their pivotal role in bringing real change in the country.
“It’s not that we don’t have the tools to prevent; it’s that we’re not implementing the tools to the scale that we need to implement it, to make that impact and to bring that change,” the health minister said.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, all HPV vaccines protect against at least HPV types 16 and 18, which places individuals at the most significant risk of developing cervical cancer.
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can cause various health issues, including genital warts and cancer.
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