Two Control Yuan members on Friday said they plan to launch an investigation into government-funded vaccinations against the human papilloma virus (HPV) for seventh-grade girls, on grounds that the policy lacks necessary risk evaluations and other considerations.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare in March announced that seventh-grade girls would be able to receive the vaccine starting in November, citing it as an effective method to prevent HPV infections and cancers caused by it, mainly cervical cancer.
Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) in a press release said that “related risk evaluations, supporting measures and a verification mechanism to test its effectiveness seem incomplete.”
Having sex with an infected person is believed to be the most common way of HPV transmission, they said, adding that it takes 10 to 20 years for an HPV infection to develop into cancer, so the effectiveness of the vaccine can only be verified in about 20 years.
However, severe side effects have been reported around the world for the HPV vaccine, which can seriously affect patients’ lives, they said, adding that although the HPV vaccine has been sold in Taiwan for more than 10 years, it was only recently evaluated by local governments, without any other risk evaluations or follow-up studies to measure its effectiveness.
They asked whether the ministry has evaluated the risks and side effects tied to the vaccine, and whether it has followed medical ethics and the principle of informed consent by informing vaccine receivers that they still need to regularly undergo Pap smear tests.
They asked what follow-up mechanisms have been prepared, as well as why boys were excluded from the policy when HPV infections are common among males as well.
Ministry Health Promotion Administration Director-General Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) said the policy was proposed after an evaluation of similar policies available in more than 80 nations.
Public health policies need to consider the balance between cost and effect, which is why the first phase would be aimed at girls only, he said, adding that the agency would also raise public awareness on the importance of undergoing regular Pap smear tests in addition to vaccinations.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
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