By Lydia Ngoolo
The officer in charge of reproductive health, ambulance services and immunization Joseph Mutinda has asked parents and teachers to allow their 10 year old girls to take free HPV vaccines.
Mutinda said the vaccine is safe but decried the low uptake since its inception in 2019 and expressed worry that many people have resisted the vaccine that was tested and approved by the Kenya pharmacy and Poisons Board.
He said the vaccine protects the girls from cervical cancer which is the main killer type of cancer in women.
“The reason why girls aged 10 years are targeted is because they have not started engaging in sexual activities and have not been exposed to HPV,” said Mutinda.
The vaccine is given in two doses, six months apart for it to be effective and a card is issued to the girls indicating the return date for the second dose free of charge.
He said cervical cancer is treatable especially when detected in stage one or two, therefore calling for early checkup in adults and vaccine for young ones.
“Seven women die daily in Kenya from cervical cancer. It’s the leading cause of cancer related deaths among women in Kenya,” added Mutinda.
