03/08/2023 | Writer: Selma Koçak
The HPV vaccine is still not free of charge, despite the precedent-setting decision to make it free of charge and the promise of Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
The Health Minister has forgotten his promise about the HPV vaccine, which offers 100 % protection against various types of cervical cancer, if it is administered between the ages of 9 and 14!
Despite the precedent-setting judicial decision on free HPV vaccination in Turkey and the Health Minister’s promise in January that the HPV vaccine would be free of charge, the price of HPV vaccine has also risen to 2000 TL for a single dose following the increase in the price of medicines.
Feminist Health warns after the recent rise: Those who are not able to get vaccinated against HPV, are at risk of getting cancer. We don’t want to get cancer, we want our right to free health!”
Will there be criteria such as marital status, gender and age, even if the service is free of charge?
The broken promise made by the Health Minister Koca regarding the HPV vaccine is also inconsistent. Koca had said that the HPV vaccine would be given to people over the age of 18, considering their marital status, contrary to the World’s Health Organization’s recommendation that the vaccine should be completed by the age of 15.
Tags: human rights, women, health
