Vaccinations will be mandatory for girls entering junior high school
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/14
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
HPV vaccine (Pan American Health Organization/Flickr)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government is to roll out free HPV vaccinations for girls in junior high school from the end of this year.
According to a report from CNA, the national health service announced today (Dec. 14) that the first batch of 80,000 imported vaccines had been tested and packaged. Health centers in one or two city and county areas will begin offering the vaccination towards the end of this year, before the service is opened up to girls in the first year of junior high school across the country.
Statistics published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare indicate that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, with over 4,000 in Taiwan suffering from the disease each year. Those who contract HPV are more at risk to cervical cancer, with up to 70 percent of cases found to be caused by sustained type 16 or 18 HPV infections.
The national health service said it has budgeted NT$250 million (US$8 million) and plans to make inoculation against virus types 16 and 18 mandatory for girls in the first year of junior high school across Taiwan. [FULL STORY]
