Following a technical note from the Ministry of Health, issued on June 22 this year, the Municipal Health Department has expanded vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) for men aged 45 years, 11 months and 29 days with immunosuppression. For immunocompromised women of the same age, the vaccine became available in March of last year.
The technical advisor for immunization at the Ministry of Health, Leonardo Cordero, explained that until then, the HPV vaccine was only available to immunosuppressed men up to the age of 26. Immunosuppressed people are those with HIV/AIDS, those who are transplanted from solid organs or bone marrow, and cancer patients.
In Campos, these patients are treated at the Special Immunobiology Reference Center (Crie), which operates in the Department of Health, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer, and it is the third most common type among women. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that there are between 9 and 10 million infected with this virus in Brazil and that there are 700,000 new cases of infection every year in the country.
To receive the Crie vaccination, a person needs to provide a medical report proving the disease, as well as an identity document, proof of residency, and a vaccination card. There are, in total, three doses at two-month intervals, between the first and second dose, and the third dose six months after the first application.
Campos was the first medium-sized Brazilian municipality to provide, free of charge, as of October 2010, under former mayor Rosina Garrotenho, the HPV vaccine for girls 9 to 14 years old and for boys 11 to 14 years old. Two-dose schedule, six months apart. The municipal entrepreneurial spirit prompted the application of more than 100,000 doses of the immune system between 2010 and 2016.
For this target audience, the vaccine is offered in basic health units (UBSs) and is part of the routine schedule. In May this year, City Hall, through the Department of Health and the Department of Education, Science and Technology (Seduct), resumed the introduction of the HPV vaccine into schools in the local education system.
