Parental consent mandatory for vaccination
A campaign to protect girls from cervical cancer began in Punjab on Monday with teams endeavouring to carry out vaccination in schools.
Before any girl can receive the vaccine, written permission from her parents is required.
The Punjab School Education Department issued a directive that no girl will be vaccinated without the written consent. Schools have started sending consent forms to parents, and teams will collect these forms before giving the vaccine doses.
The health and population department, with support from the school education department and World Health Organisation (WHO), is giving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to girls aged nine to 14. The free vaccination drive will continue till September 27.
Health teams are visiting schools and community centres to reach as many girls as possible. Special teams will also search for girls who are not enrolled in schools.
According to provincial health officials, thousands of vaccinators, social workers and support staff have been trained and assigned duties in the districts for the campaign..
According to health experts, the condition of parents' consent is meant to respect parental rights, but it also creates challenges.
In areas where parents may have difficulty reading or where children are not enrolled in schools, collecting the signed forms may take extra time and effort.
The experts clarified that the HPV vaccine is safe and effective in preventing infections that can lead to cervical cancer later in life.
A worker said delays in receiving consent might slow down the campaign and make it harder to vaccinate all eligible girls within the schedule.
Outreach and lady health workers are visiting neighbourhoods to talk to families, answer questions and provide information about the vaccine's benefits.
The health department has prepared simple information material in local languages and trained social mobilisers to talk to parents to dispel rumours regarding the campaign.
Doctors and community leaders have been asked to guide families and explain the importance of the vaccination.
The government has promised to monitor any side effects and keep the record of all vaccinations.
The health authorities will continue to share updates on how many girls have been vaccinated and whether any issues arise.
Some parents also hesitate to give vaccine to their daughters.
"We have received phone calls from some parents who have strictly asked us to not administer the vaccine to their daughters as they have concerns. There is a need for awareness among parents in this connection," said a schoolteacher, Saman Fatima.
Flood survivors
Punjab Cabinet Committee on Disaster Management Chairman Khawaja Salman Rafique said while chairing a meeting that thousands of flood victims had been provided healthcare.acilities through medical camps.
The meeting was organised via video link from Alipur in Muzaffargarh regarding the provision of medical facilities to the flood victims.
The medical facilities provided to the victims in Multan, Muzaffargarh, Alipur, Jalalpur and other flood-affected areas were reviewed in detail. The meeting urged the health teams to be more active in the flood-affected areas and to increase relief activities.