Staff from Social Security will visit to schools to provide students with tetanus vaccinations for all ten-year-old students, both boys, and girls, and to vaccinate the girls against the papilloma virus.

The girls will complete the vaccination schedule when they have the second dose of the papilloma vaccine, scheduled to occur six months after receiving the first.

The papilloma virus vaccine is exclusively given to girls as a public health measure to prevent cancer of the cervix, one of the most frequent malignancies among women in the country. The vaccine strengthens the immune system of a girl who has not been in contact with the virus.

Social Security Chief Executive Dr. Román Macaya calls on all parents to vaccinate their daughters and points out that vaccination is the most important preventive measure to prevent cervical cancer.

Education Minister Édgar Mora  argues that schools should not only be spaces for teaching, but they should also be sites in which the integral protection of minors is guaranteed and this includes the promotion of health with this type of vaccination campaign. "It is important that all school personnel provide all the necessary collaboration to Social Security specialists so that this campaign is successful and reaches as many students as possible," he said.

According to Social Security, the papilloma virus is so common that almost all men and women contract it at some point in their adult life. In most cases and thanks to the body's defenses, the virus disappears on its own, without causing any health problems.

Nevertheless when the papilloma virus stays in the body for a long time, it can cause health problems such as genital warts or cancer.

Once the person contracts the virus there is no way to know who will naturally eliminate it or who will present cancer or other health problems at a later date.

It is possible that people with weak immune systems have less ability to fight the virus and are more likely to have health problems from their infection.

Cervical cancer can usually take years to develop or develop decades after a person has contracted the virus. This is why it has been concluded that the papilloma virus is a necessary but not sufficient cause of cervical cancer.

The person's immune system also participates in the possibilities of defense against the virus.

The lots of vaccines were in the storage phase and later they pass the process of quality control of the Social Security. Then they were distributed to the clinics in the country.

The vaccination campaign intends to vaccinate 35,015 girls who turn 10 this year.

Dr. Macaya says that this vaccination campaign will reduce the mortality associated with cervical cancer. "As parents, we should be aware that cervical cancer is avoidable in a large percentage of cases and this vaccine is an instrument of protection."

According to Dr. Macaya in the world, 270 million doses have already been applied in different countries, which has been strictly monitored for quality, safety, and efficacy. "We can say that it is an effective and safe vaccine and it is good news for women in Costa Rica," he said.

This vaccine was included in the basic Social Security vaccination list, so it is the parents' obligation to keep the children with the vaccines up to date.

According to specialist, most HPV infections cause no symptoms and resolve spontaneously. In some people, an HPV infection persists and results in warts or precancerous lesions. The precancerous lesions increase the risk of cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, mouth, or throat.

Nearly all cervical cancer is due to HPV with two types, HPV16 and HPV18. They account for 70 percent of cases. Between 60 percent and 90 percent of the other cancers mentioned above are also linked to HPV. HPV6 and HPV11 are common causes of genital warts and laryngeal papillomatosis.