All female Secondary One students in Singapore will soon be offered the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination for free.

This was revealed in a speech by Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor during the Ministry of Health Committee of Supply debate on Wednesday, March 6.

Preventing cervical cancer

Khor said that from 2011 to 2015, about 200 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed annually. Every year, around 70 women die from the disease as well.

Cervical cancer is caused by infection with the HPV, and can be prevented through vaccination and screening.

In order to provide more comprehensive cervical cancer prevention for Singaporean girls and women, Khor announced that MOH will be offering fully-subsidised HPV vaccination from April 2019 as part of their national school-based health programme.

Under this programme, current and future cohorts of Sec One female students will be offered the HPV vaccination as part of an opt-in scheme.

A one-time catch-up programme will be progressively provided for current cohorts of secondary school female students, i.e. those who are older, but still in school, will have the option to receive their HPV vaccine free too.

All other female Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents from same age-equivalent cohorts, including those studying in private education institutions, will also be eligible for this.

Comprehensive screening test for women aged 30 & above

Apart from students, Khor also highlighted that MOH is introducing a more accurate HPV screening test for cervical cancer for women aged 30 years and above.

This screening test only needs to be done once every five years, compared to the current recommended protocol involving a test that needs to be done every three years.

Even though this new screening procedure will cost more, Khor said the government will be providing more subsidies to ensure that the cost to women will be the same in the long run.

HPV vaccination

Currently, there are three types of HPV vaccines approved for use in Singapore — Gardasil 4, Gardasil 9 and Cervarix. These vaccines provide different coverage against HPV subtypes.

Under the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule, HPV vaccines are approved for use in girls and women aged nine to 26.

The vaccine is most effective before a woman becomes sexually active. However, sexually active male and female adults can still benefit from it.

Top photo via video screenshot, video via WHO.