Jakarta –
The Indonesian Ministry of Health recently included the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine, a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, into the mandatory vaccine program. Cervical cancer is known to be the biggest killer of women in Indonesia, second only to breast cancer.
But along with the news, a number of questions arise, can women who are sexually active receive the HPV vaccine? If you have already had sex, is the HPV vaccine still effective in reducing the risk of cervical cancer?
Obstetrics and gynecology specialist from Pondok Indah Hospital (RSPI), Dr. Grace Valentine, SpOG explained that there are two conditions for a woman to receive the HPV vaccine. Namely, not infected with HPV and not being infected with cervical cancer.
“The conditions for this cervical cancer vaccine are one, the woman has not been infected with HPV because the goal is not to get her infected with HPV. The second is that the woman does not have cervical cancer,” he explained in an online discussion entitled ‘Women’s Talk Stronger Together Against Cancer’, Thursday. (21/4/2022).
With these two conditions, women who are sexually active can still receive the HPV vaccine. However, the woman must be checked first to make sure she is not infected with the HPV virus or cervical cancer.
“So before vaccinating women who are sexually active or have children, we must first make sure that the woman has not been infected with HPV. Second, there is no cervical cancer in the woman. So this vaccination can be useful as primary prevention,” explained Dr. Grace.
Watch Videos “Listen! The Ministry of Health’s explanation of the Free Cervical Cancer Vaccine Program“
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
–
