PETALING JAYA: A total of 242 residents in Segamat, Johor, including several males, received free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in a programme organised by the Jementah state assemblywoman’s office recently.
Done in collaboration with the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM), the programme was held in the assemblywoman’s service centres in Jementah and Kampung Abdullah recently.
Jementah assemblywoman Ng Kor Sim said although the government provided free HPV vaccination in schools for Form One girls, many women, especially those between ages of 30 and 45, were still not inoculated as the initiative was only introduced in schools in recent years.
“This new vaccine administered on our participants is expensive and can reduce cervical cancer by 90 per cent,“ said Ng, who also took a booster shot, since she last took the vaccination around 10 years ago.
She added that this is the first time her office held such a programme and was hopeful this would be an annual affair, subject to government funding.
Ng also thanked the NCSM for conducting the programme.
The free vaccination exercise was led by NCSM’s medical officer Dr Leevyadhashiny Ganasan. Several males also received the HPV vaccination.
“It is a misconception that the HPV vaccines are only for females. Males also need the vaccine to prevent anal and genital cancer caused by the HPV,“ said Ng.
One of the male recipients, Ong Jia Ren, 25, said he was very appreciative of Ng for organising the event and was hopeful that more such programmes could be held in the future as it was beneficial to the community.
Another recipient, Siti Norshyuhada Mohd Kamal, 31, also thanked Ng for organising this event and called on women to get vaccinated to reduce the risk of getting cervical cancer.
