Free HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination for school-age girls adds another city. A few days ago, some media quoted the Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission in Henan Province as saying that in September this year, Zhengzhou plans to take the lead in implementing HPV vaccination for women of appropriate age in Xinmi, and promote it as appropriate in 2023 according to the pilot situation.
Just two days ago, Mianyang county in Sichuan and Linyi County in Dezhou, Shandong Province, also officially announced that they would receive free HPV vaccines for girls of the right age. From Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, which initially "ate crabs", to Xiamen, Fujian, Jinan, Shandong, Chengdu, Sichuan, and then to Xinmi, Henan, which was the latest "listed", the free HPV vaccine for women of the right age has accelerated, and it has become the standard of the "people's livelihood list" of local governments.
What is not "cold knowledge" is that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women, and the second largest malignancy in women on the mainland. The huge population base and rising incidence of cervical cancer have increased the burden on public health in China. Fortunately, however, scientific research has confirmed that cervical cancer originates from high-risk HPV virus infection and is currently the only cancer with a clear etiology, preventable and controllable cause. HpV vaccination is the most effective way to prevent cervical cancer.
The free HPV vaccine will protect this and the next generation of girls from cervical cancer for life. In addition, because there is an "optimal time" for HPV vaccination - according to the WHO initiative, women are best vaccinated before the first sexual activity, that is, 9 to 14 years old, which also means that vaccination is almost in a hurry with potential risks, and one day earlier, more girls are included in the "appropriate age" range, and then more protection. In the comments of netizens, this initiative to benefit the people was warmly called "a gift of a city". Behind this is the affirmation and expectation of accurate and tangible people's livelihood services.
Can more "gifts of the city" allow us to usher in a cervical cancer-free society early?
With the popularization of scientific knowledge, the society's recognition of HPV vaccine is getting higher and higher, and the news of self-funded vaccination "a seedling is difficult to find" is not new, and even imported HPV vaccine scalpers have grabbed black production. However, the inequality between urban and rural areas is obvious, the current HPV vaccine organizations are mostly concentrated in cities and schools, and the needs of rural areas, especially remote areas, have not received enough attention.
In addition, women of appropriate age can also prevent possible HPV infection by vaccinating, whether free of charge or at their own expense. For women of other ages, they can only escort their health through strict precancerous screening. In other words, the shield against cervical cancer should be a system of vaccination, screening and treatment, and free HPV vaccination is just one part of it. The latter may be more "sensational" and more visible, but this should not be overlooked, or more accurately, selectively ignored, the rationale for enhancing cervical cancer screening.
Statistics show that in 2015, only 25.7% of women aged 20 to 64 in mainland China had been screened for cervical cancer, of which 31.4% were screened for 35 to 64 years old. This is a step away from China's commitment to the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, in which 70 percent of women are screened for efficient testing methods before the ages of 35 and 45.
In 2019, cervical cancer screening for rural women will be included in basic public health services, and the continuity of cervical cancer screening work may continue to be improved. It is foreseeable that as the tentacles of screening work reach more remote and underdeveloped places, they will encounter more resistance due to lack of information and outdated concepts, and objectively the decline in access to screening services will also reduce the willingness of local women to participate in cervical cancer screening. How to make the screening service more extensive, deeper and deeper, and more skillfully combat prejudices and stereotypes about women's bodies and sexuality, directly test the responsibility and patience of local governments.
"No one can be less", for cervical cancer prevention, governments at all levels should have such determination and confidence. Behind each "1", there is a specific life, difficulties and pains are concrete, and protection and change are also concrete. With unremitting efforts and long-term efforts, we believe that our efforts to prevent cervical cancer will eventually be rewarded.
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Source: Bright Times Review
Editor-in-charge: Wang Zimo
Editors: Sun Dai, Zhang Xueyu