DOH to launch HPV vaccination for young girls following budget OK
Facade of the Department of Health office in Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The health department is ready to roll out its planned human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program for all young girls in 2025, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s approval of the budget for the initiative.
“What I asked of the President—and he granted—was to allocate the budget for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for all girls; it’s very important because the HPV vaccination is expensive, P4,000 per dose, two doses are needed, P8,000 per nine-year-old girl,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said in Filipino during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Thursday.
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The HPV vaccine is a protection against most cases of cervical cancer.
“hat’s also billions, but I’m glad the President gave that,” Herbosa said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Based on data from the Department of Health as of May 2023, 7,897 Filipinas are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and 4,052 die from the disease.
It also ranks second in cancers among women in the country and the second most common cancer in women between the ages of 15 and 44.
