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.

The cervical cancer vaccine is recommended for girls aged 11 to 12, although it may be given to girls as young as age 9. It’s important for girls to receive the vaccine before sexual contact and possible exposure to human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer.

If girls in that age bracket are not vaccinated, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends catch-up immunisation for girls and women ages 13 to 26. the vaccine isn’t recommended, however, for women older than age 26.

In Thailand, some 400,000 teenagers are in need of vaccinations.

Dr Prasert’s call for free vaccinations echoes recommendations by the Royal College of Gynaecology of Thailand, the Royal College of Paediatrians of Thailand and the Thai Gynecologic Cancer Society. Those organisations say free vaccinations would help prevent up to 3,500 deaths a year and save billions of baht in annual treatment costs.

Dr Prasert said he was certain that if the government moved ahead with a free vaccination programme that it would be able to negotiate with vaccine producers for lower prices by ordering in quantity.

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, considered the most effective method for checking for cervical cancer symptoms.

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