…as Cancer Control Unit extends vaccination drive
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – “Thank you to the parents for understanding the need to give consent for the vaccination of their children.”
These were the words of Dr Teluleko Maseko of the Cancer Control Unit when updating the public on the Human papillomavirus (HPV) for young girls which was launched last week. The HPV Vaccination Drive was launched by Inkhosikati LaMatsebula with the goal to combat cancer in the country.
Dr Maseko was updating the public on the Kusile Breakfast Show this morning.
“The Ministry was targeting to conduct the drive for seven days. As we hit the ground, we realised that there is more demand than we had anticipated among the children, such that our nurses were sometimes overwhelmed by the numbers. The ministry saw it fit to add three more days to the drive, which means that the vaccination drive will end this coming Friday,” sad Dr Maseko.
He added that the Cancer Control Unit in the next three days will be conducting a mop-up exercise to get to the students who did not vaccinate in previous visits to the schools.
“Some parents had only given verbal consent, which we could not consider as proper consent. A number of parents have now filled in the consent form for their children, and we will be returning for those students in the next three days,” revealed Dr Maseko.
Dr Maseko also thanked the cooperation of headteachers as the custodians of the children for giving them access to their schools and students.
The target for the HPV Vaccination Drive was about 83,000 girls between the ages of 9 to 14 years.
“We are now sitting at over 50% of the targeted number of students, and we hope that the mop-up exercise will help us get much closer to the target,” said Dr Maseko.
He added that there have been no reported negative side effects from the vaccines, and encouraged parents to reach out to them if they have any questions.
HPV can cause cervical cancers, including cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus, which often take years, even decades, to develop after a person gets HPV. This is why the Ministry of Health Cancer Control Unit is focusing on HPV vaccinations, to help reduce future cases of cancer in Eswatini.
