Lawmaker urges free HPV vaccinations for girls

A Shanghai lawmaker is calling for free human papillomavirus vaccinations (HPV) for girls in primary and middle school.

Cervical cancer is the most prevalent female cancer in the world. In 2020, a total of 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths were reported globally.

There were about 110,000 cases of cervical cancer in China in 2020, when 59,000 people died of the diseases. Which means one new case is diagnosed every five minutes, and there is a death every nine minutes.

"I propose that for eligible female students of primary and secondary school age, we should provide free domestically produced bivalent HPV vaccine and subsidized imported 9-valent vaccine," Jin Ying, a deputy of the 16th Shanghai People's Congress, told Shanghai Daily.

"We have found that high-risk HPV infection among women is relatively common, and the average age of onset for cervical cancer is decreasing year by year," Jin said.

HPV infection is the major reason for cervical cancer, and 84.5 percent of the cases in China are related with infection of HPV16 and 18.

According to the WHO, girls between the ages of 9 and 14 are the primary target for vaccinations. If adolescent girls are vaccinated against HPV, it can stimulate a better immune response, and women who have not had sex will achieve the best preventive effect.

Currently, the HPV vaccine coverage among Chinese adolescents needs urgent improvement, Jin said in her proposal.

"A questionnaire survey of 5,414 college students in China revealed that the HPV vaccine coverage among female college students was approximately 3.09 percent from 2017 to 2019, and the coverage for the complete three-dose series of the HPV vaccine was only 0.73 percent, which is far below the global average."

"Primary prevention is the most effective strategy and cannot be replaced," Jin told Shanghai Daily.

She suggests conducting a survey to screen female students in primary and secondary schools who have not yet received the HPV vaccine.

Then, local medical institutions and schools can work together to improve the promotion and knowledge of HPV vaccines among the selected population.

She also urges the government to provide financial support for free vaccination with domestically produced bivalent HPV vaccines for female adolescents of school age.

All female students who meet the age requirements and have no contraindications for vaccination can receive the vaccine for free, without any cost, she said.

For girls aged 9-14, the full course of vaccination consists of 2 doses.

Additionally, girls aged 9-14 who wish to receive the imported nine-valent HPV vaccine for cervical cancer prevention will receive a subsidy for the first dose, which is about 1,305.5 yuan (US$178).