Argentina announced inclusion of HPV vaccine in the national schedule: Really?

The Argentinean President, Cristina Fernandez, has announced yesterday that the government will incorporate the vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV) in to the national immunization schedule established by the Ministry of Health, local press reported. The President announced the decision in the context of the launch of the National Institute of Tropical Medicine in Puerto Iguazu, pointing out that cervical cancer associated with HPV is the second leading cause of cancer deaths and kills about two thousand women per year. The vaccine will be indicated to girls of 11 years old  as part of the national schedule and it will be delivered free of charge.

That can be true? The announcement would represent a major breakthrough for the health of Argentinean woman in terms of cervical cancer prevention. However, there is a lack of information related to this announcement which might symbolize that its implementation is still  being worked out. At the moment,  the government has not been released information about which vaccine of the two available in the market (Gardasil/Merck – Cervarix/GSK) will be  included in the immunisation program and if there is a public tender ahead. In addition, even though the inclusion of the HPV was related to the national vaccination schedule, which means it is universal and will be provided free of charge, the President in the same speech has called  for the well off people to try to purchase th is  vaccine  from the private sector, in order to make sure enough coverage for the poorer sectors of the population. Further information will need to be disclosed  in order to assess this announcement  properly. Furthermore, it is interesting to note and understand why for Pneumococcal vaccine has not been included yet in the calendar, and HPV has been.