The Ministry of Public Health will start offering the first dose of HPV (Human papillomavirus virus) vaccine to prathom 5 (grade 5) schoolgirls on Dec 20 as protection against cervical cancer.
Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said the government is prioritising healthcare for teenagers and young women, with the HPV vaccine among its main initiatives.
The rollout of the HPV vaccine to prathom 5 is part of a wider voluntary HPV vaccination programme targeting females aged 11-20.
The ministry aims to provide more than a million doses of the vaccine, which covers nine HPV strains, to 673,500 prathom 5 students and 400,000 others within the designated age range.
Those who have had single shots already will receive boosters to protect against four more variants of HPV, the minister said.
The prathom 5 round is scheduled to begin at Wat Kien Ket School in Pathum Thani on Dec 20 before it goes nationwide.
The ultimate goal is to reduce sickness and fatalities from cervical cancer in Thai women, as it is curable if caught early, the minister said.
Women outside of the 11-20 age group can obtain free home test kits from state-run hospitals, and then seek treatment if the result is positive.
On Monday, the national disease control committee also agreed to step up vaccinations against measles, rubella and mumps in children aged up to 5 years old in provinces where protection has fallen below 95%.
The Reach Out programme involves mobile vaccination units and a surveillance campaign to alert the ministry of any outbreaks, said Mr Somsak.
