Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) starts in Batken. Director of the Republican Immunoprophylaxis Center Gulbara Ishenapysova told 24.kg news agency.
According to her, there are more than 21,000 people in the target group.
The vaccination campaign in Batken was launched later because of the September armed conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
In total, as of November 25, about 133,000 adolescent girls, or 55 percent of the target group, were vaccinated in the republic. More than 80 percent of schoolgirls are covered in some regions (Osh and Talas regions). The lowest coverage is in Chui region (32 percent) and Bishkek (39 percent).
«This is a regular routine vaccination in which intervals must be respected. The main goal is to cover children by the end of the year, so that they will receive the second dose in six months,» Gulbara Ishenapysova told.
Vaccination of 11-14-year-old girls in Kyrgyzstan began on November 14. During this time, a total of six non-serious cases of adverse events after immunization were registered.
Doctors assure that the vaccine is safe, effective and does not affect reproductive function. The injection is administered intramuscularly into the shoulder twice with an interval of six months: the first dose — in November, the second — in May.
In total, it is planned to cover at least 90 percent of adolescents in the target group (about 228,000 people). However, some parents of teenage girls have already refused vaccination. The percentage of refusals, according to Gulbara Ishenapysova, will be known by mid-December.
According to medical workers, vaccination will prevent more than 600 cases and about 300 deaths from cervical cancer every year in the future.
