The Department of Health (Sesa) is now adopting the single-dose regimen of the HPV vaccine, made available to children and adolescents aged 9 to 14 across the state. The update follows regulations from the National Immunization Program (PNI), of the Ministry of Health, published this Tuesday (02), through Technical Note No. 41/2024.
According to the federal agency, the adoption of a single dose follows the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and through scientific evidence in other countries that have incorporated this scheme to provide protection against cervical cancer equal to that of two or three doses in environments with high vaccination coverage, in addition to the expansion of the benefit of vaccination to other priority groups and the difficulty in achieving adequate coverage in the second dose of the HPV vaccine.
The adoption of a single dose of the HPV vaccine will only be for children and adolescents aged 9 to 14 years, maintaining the recommendations for a three-dose schedule for other groups, such as immunocompromised people and victims of sexual violence. In the document, the Ministry also advises the inclusion of people with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) as a priority group for the HPV vaccine and the implementation of a rescue strategy for unvaccinated adolescents aged 15 to 19. In relation to this strategy, Sesa awaits technical guidance from the agency to begin the active search.
“It is a very important decision, especially as a public health strategy, where we will be able to immunize more children and adolescents with the same number of doses. In addition to the benefits that the HPV vaccine brings, such as the possible elimination of uterine cancer and the reduction of other cancers”, explained the coordinator of the State Program for Immunization and Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (PEI), Danielle Grillo.
Previously, the HPV vaccine was administered in a two-dose schedule, with a six-month interval between administration. In Brazil, the HPV vaccine is provided by the Butantan Institute. It is quadrivalent and protects against low-risk HPV types 6 and 11, which cause anogenital warts, and high-risk types 16 and 18, which cause cervical, penile, anal and oral cancer. With this update, considering the single dose scheme (D1), Espírito Santo reached the target recommended by the Ministry of Health, of 80% vaccination coverage, in female and male populations in the year 2023. D1 coverage in girls was 93.67% and in boys 82.53%.
According to Danielle Grillo, the State Program is preparing a technical standard to be sent to the municipalities of Espírito Santo on technical-operational guidelines so that they can begin the new strategy. She further explained that children and adolescents aged 9 to 14 who have already been vaccinated with one dose of the HPV vaccine previously do not need to receive the second dose.
Press Information:
Sesa Communications Advisory
Syria Luppi / Luciana Almeida / Danielly Campos / Thaísa Côrtes / Ana Cláudia dos Santos
Tags: Government State adopts singledose HPV vaccine regimen children adolescents aged
