The Ministry of Public Health said that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination will soon be added to the immunization schedule of Qatar, after completing studies on the importance and benefit of including this type of vaccination in the vaccination schedule.
Head of Immunization Department of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Suha Al Bayat, said yesterday on the sidelines of a workshop on vaccinations that this vaccination will be added within a year from now, after receiving approval from the supreme immunization committee. Dr Al Bayat stressed the importance of this vaccination in preventing some types of cancer, the most important of which is cervical cancer and other types of cancers caused by the papillomavirus.
HPV causes cervical cancer and is the fourth most common type of cancer in women, with nearly all cases of cervical cancer (99%) can be attributable to HPV infection, the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract.
Dr Al Bayat said that the plan has been prepared to include the vaccination against papillomavirus in the immunization schedule, adding a quantity of this vaccination is currently available in private health institutions and some health institutions of the government health sector.
The Head of Immunization Department added that the vaccination against hepatitis A was recently deleted from the immunization schedule. Vaccination against this disease is now limited to certain cases, as the State of Qatar is not among countries where hepatitis A is prevalent, she said.
Meanwhile, Dr Hamad Eid Al Rumaihi, Director of Health Protection and Transitional Diseases at the Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health, revealed a new electronic system, which is a national program, to monitor transitional diseases and record vaccinations, a matter which will contribute to updating the rates of immunization coverage.
He added that the program will be connected to the Cerner program in Hamad Medical Corporation and Primary Health Care Corporation, and will be connected later to semi-governmental and private health institutions in the country.
