China will add its domestic HPV vaccine to its national immunization program (NIP) this year, making it free for school-age girls. 

The move, announced last week, marks the first update to the NIP in 17 years, and the first time a cancer-preventive vaccine has been included. Currently, vaccines in the NIP cover 15 infectious diseases and are free and compulsory for children aged 0–6. 

Approved in 2019, the first domestically developed HPV vaccine targets strains 16 and 18, which cause 70-80% of cervical cancer cases worldwide and 84.5% in China. Both strains are also linked to anal, genital, and throat cancers. 

Authorities are yet to set an implementation date or eligible age range. Globally, health agencies recommend HPV vaccination for children of all genders before the onset of sexual activity.

Broad campaigns to vaccinate girls for HPV have existed in China since 2022, with provinces such as southern China’s Guangdong and Hainan, and the eastern Fujian, providing free HPV shots to girls aged 13-14. However, coverage and access have been uneven.

“Only by incorporating it into the national plan can we ensure that every child has equal access to immunization,” Feng Zijian, vice president of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, told domestic media. 

Vaccine programs have met with resistance from some parents. In March, Beijing began offering free HPV vaccination to all first-year middle school girls. On social media, reactions were mixed, with some strongly supporting the rollout, and others preferring to wait and receive an HPV vaccine that protects against nine strains of cervical cancer. 

Some parents have also raised concerns about whether vaccination at such an early age was appropriate. Others also stressed that vaccinating boys and men is also crucial to preventing disease.

Tang Shenglan, co-director of the Global Health Research Center at Duke Kunshan University, said the inclusion was an important step in tackling the disease. “Including HPV vaccination in the national immunization program will allow it to be integrated into a comprehensive prevention strategy of ‘vaccination + screening + early diagnosis and treatment’ for cervical cancer,” he told domestic media.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)