Govt urged to provide free cervical cancer vaccines

From an article in The Bangkok Post

A Disease Control Department vaccine specialist yesterday called on the Public Health Ministry to introduce a free-of-charge vaccination programme for cervical cancer so all girls who need the drug will have access to it.

Renowned virologist Prasert Thongcharoen, a vaccine adviser at the DCD, said the Public Health Ministry told a vaccinology course held by the National Vaccine Institute that 5,000-6,000 women per year die from cervical cancer – or about 18 women per day.

Dr Prasert suggested the ministry conduct a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the current anti-cervical cancer vaccination programme, saying at present only girls from well-to-do families were able to afford the vaccine.

Read the entire article here.

[Note from SaneVax: One wonders if the 400,000 girls ‘in need of vaccination’ can afford to wait decades to see whether or not HPV vaccines make an impact on the rate of cervical cancer in their country. The government of Thailand could save a lot of money, and quite probably many more lives, by providing an adequate cervical cancer screening and follow-up program, particularly since it is highly recommended post-vaccination anyway. It is a method already proven safe and effective in multiple countries around the world.]

Reply posted in the same newspaper, entitled “Verifying vaccine facts:”

Re: ”Govt urged to provide free cervical cancer vaccines” (Bangkok Post, July 13).

There are two points of inaccurate information cited in your article that referred to the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Programme (Hitap).

Firstly, it was mentioned that ”the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Programme suggests that women who have not had the vaccine should submit to regular screenings or pap smear tests”.

In fact, Hitap’s study on the development of an optimal policy strategy for prevention and control of cervical cancer in Thailand recommended that regular screening by either pap smear or visual inspection with acetic acid should be provided to all Thai women aged 30-60 regardless of whether or not they have been vaccinated.

Read the entire reply here.