China's southernmost province of Hainan plans to provide free vaccines against cervical cancer to about 71,000 female students aged 13 to 14 and a half this year.
The vaccination work is scheduled to start from the spring semester and will be carried out annually in phases. It is estimated to benefit 30,000 to 40,000 female students every year, according to the provincial health commission.
The students in Hainan will receive 2-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, self-developed by China, free of cost. They can get inoculated in school or designated community vaccination sites.
In 2021, China introduced a pilot program to promote the inoculation of HPV vaccines and improve the rate and quality of cervical cancer screening nationwide. The country has implemented a cervical cancer screening program in major national public health services since 2009.
