Parents urged to protect daughters from deadly cancer

By Selloane Ntshonyane

• Parents are being urged to sign and return HPV vaccine consent forms before 9 October so Grade 5 girls can receive free protection against cervical cancer.

• More than 24,000 girls missed the vaccine during the last campaign because consent forms were not returned, learners were absent or schools did not allow vaccination teams.

The Gauteng Department of Health is urging parents not to delay signing consent forms that could help protect their daughters from cervical cancer.

The department’s Human Papillomavirus, known as the HPV, vaccination campaign started on 3 August and will continue until 9 October.

The free vaccine is being offered to Grade 5 girls who are nine years and older.

The campaign started at participating independent primary schools and will also visit public and special schools to vaccinate girls who missed previous campaigns.

Health officials say the vaccine protects girls against HPV, a common virus that can cause cervical cancer later in life.

The department says cervical cancer remains one of the leading cancers affecting South African women, even though it can be prevented through vaccination and regular screening.

Parents and caregivers have been urged to sign and return consent forms as soon as possible.

The department stressed that no child under the age of 12 will receive the vaccine without written permission from a parent or guardian.

Girls who are 12 years and older can give their own consent.

The previous vaccination campaign reached 72,249 Grade 5 girls in public schools and 9,740 girls in independent schools.

Public schools achieved an 80% vaccination rate, while independent schools reached only 37.7%.

The department said thousands of girls missed out because some schools did not allow vaccination teams onto their premises, some learners were absent on vaccination day and more than 24,000 consent forms were never returned.

Health officials also blamed false information about the vaccine for causing unnecessary fear among some parents.

Salomé Meyer, director of the Cancer Alliance, said cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in South Africa and one of the country’s biggest cancer killers.

“More than 5,000 women lose their lives to cervical cancer every year. That is about one woman every 67 minutes,” she said.

Meyer said parents should not be frightened by misinformation.

“The HPV vaccine has been used safely around the world for more than 20 years. It is not linked to whether a child is sexually active. It is there to protect girls from getting cervical cancer later in life,” she said.

She encouraged parents to sign the consent forms so their daughters can receive the free vaccine while it is available at school.

Research published in The Lancet Global Health found that South Africa’s HPV vaccination programme reduced HPV infections by 83% among young women, including those living with HIV.

Health officials say returning one signed consent form could help save a young girl’s life in the future.

Pictured above: The Gauteng Department of Health is urging parents to return consent forms so Grade 5 girls can receive a free HPV vaccine that helps protect against cervical cancer.

Image source: File.