The free cervical cancer vaccine, which Government promised to start giving to 12-year-old girls from October, will finally be administered after a legal hiccup was ironed out, a health spokesman said.

Last May the Health Minister launched a national vaccination campaign involving the free administration of a vaccine that targets two strands of human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease that affects women and is believed to be the major cause of cervical cancer.

Health Minister Joe Cassar had announced that parents of about 2,000 girls born in 2000 will start receiving requests to take their daughters to health centres for the injection from October.

The Government started the procurement procedure for the vaccine but the process was stalled when one of the competitors appealed.

“The appeals process has been concluded and the decision taken by Health Department was upheld. This means the procurement process will continue and in the coming weeks all girls born in 2000 will start being called to avail themselves of this free vaccine,” the spokesman said.

The incidence of cervical cancer in Malta is 12 per year, with a 50 per cent mortality rate. This is low compared with most EU countries. Worldwide, there are an estimated 529,000 new cases of cervical cancer and 275,000 deaths per year.

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