The Ministry of Health (SEDESA), through the Public Health Services of Mexico City, began this Monday the “Campaign to Reduce Delays in Vaccination Schemes against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 2023”, where 195,834 free doses were available from September 11 to December 15.
The purpose of this strategy is to reduce the incidence of HPV infection in women, especially those who have not yet started their active sexual life. Within the framework of the 2023-2024 school year, the vaccine will be applied in 4,154 primary and secondary school campuses, public and private, as well as in Condesa Specialized Clinics.
“This is a historic vaccination campaign against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in Mexico City. Historic, because we will recover HPV vaccination coverage after the pandemic; We will vaccinate out-of-school girls aged 11, 12 and 13; “We will vaccinate cisgender and transgender people between 11 and 49 years old with HIV, and we will increase the vaccination goal this year by 76.7 percent compared to last year,” shared the Secretary of Health (SEDESA), Dr. Oliva, Lopez Arellano.
In the kick-off event, Dr. Jorge Alfredo Ochoa Moreno, general director of the Public Health Services of Mexico City, pointed out that in these months the Tetravalent Vaccine will be available, with protection against Type 6, 11, 16 and 18. of HPV considered to have the highest risk of developing cervical cancer.
“This vaccination campaign will reach 1,886 primary schools and 760 public secondary schools, and 1,003 primary schools and 505 private secondary schools, in order to timely detect a disease that affects the thousands of women in Mexico City and throughout the country.” Ochoa Moreno explained.
SEDESA, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers (ISSSTE) and the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) participated in the vaccination campaign against HPV, in coordination with the Federal Educational Authority of Mexico City (AEFCM).
The vaccination schedule for girls in the fifth and sixth grades of primary school and the first year of secondary school, and for girls aged 11, 12 and 13 who are not in school, consists of one dose of 0.5 milliliters intramuscularly. In the case of cisgender women and transgender people between 11 and 49 years old, living with HIV, the schedule is three doses with an interval of 0-2-6 months , to whom 0.5 ml will be administered intramuscularly.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection that represents a risk to women’s health, as it is associated with the appearance of cervical cancer. In most cases, it does not cause visible symptoms that alert the patient to the infection, until several years later.
It should be noted that the HPV vaccine was introduced in 2008 and to date more than one million 21 thousand doses have been given in Mexico City.
Representing the Office of the Mayor, Venustiano Carranza, the deputy director of Social Promotion, Carol Soria Sánchez, attended this event; and on behalf of the Federal Educational Authority of Mexico City, the General Director of Educational Services Operation, René Mario Franco Rodríguez.
