The Union of Pediatricians of Russia and the scientific medical community positively assessed the work of the government of the Chelyabinsk region for organizing a gender-neutral program for the vaccination of children against human papillomavirus infection in the region in 2020. The Union of Pediatricians of Russia expressed deep gratitude and gratitude to the First Deputy Governor of the region Irina Gekht. “This program is the only one in the Russian Federation that meets the tenets of the international medical community and complies with the recommendations of the World Health Organization through the implementation of a gender-neutral approach to vaccination and unprecedented coverage in 70% of the target age cohort (girls and boys 12 years of age),” says in a letter signed by the President of the All-Russian Public Organization "Union of Pediatricians of Russia", chief freelance pediatric specialist in preventive medicine of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Leila Namazova-Baranova. The HPV vaccination program was launched in the region as soon as possible. This was facilitated by the highly organized professional work of the government and the Ministry of Health of the region, the Union emphasizes. To implement the program, the region is the only one in Russia that managed to establish effective interaction between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. "Continued implementation of the program on the territory of the Chelyabinsk region and the expansion of the cohorts of children subject to gender-neutral vaccination will make an invaluable contribution to the implementation of the national goals and strategic tasks facing the country and indicated by the decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, and will also contribute to improving the demographic situation in the region" - the letter says. First Vice Governor Irina Gekht recalled that HPV vaccination of girls and boys was started in the region a year ago. This has generated strong support in the medical community, she said. “In several regions of Russia, only girls are vaccinated. We decided, after discussing with the expert community, to include boys, since for them HPV is a trigger for a number of oncological neoplasms. And this practice is the only one in Russia,”explained Irina Alfredovna. Let us remind you that several years ago the Chelyabinsk region was chosen for the study of children's health. It was conducted by the European Pediatric Association (EPA-UNEPSA). The authorities were given recommendations for the development of children's health care, taking into account the identified features, and a number of measures were taken to comprehensively solve the indicated tasks. Routine immunization against HPV infection of children aged 12 started in the South Urals on September 1, 2020. It was carried out according to the vaccination scheme (0-6 months) according to the order of the regional Ministry of Health 1241 dated July 27, 2020. The Ministry of Health purchased the Gardasil vaccine against the human papillomavirus (manufactured by Merck Sharp & Dohme B. V., Netherlands). HPV vaccinations are voluntary. Parents of 12-year-old South Ural schoolchildren were handed out questionnaires. Moms and dads could both agree to vaccinate their child or refuse it.
