The Gauteng Department of Health is urging parents to return signed consent forms to ensure eligible learners receive the HPV vaccine during the upcoming school vaccination campaign.
The Gauteng Department of Health has urged parents, caregivers and guardians to sign and return consent forms for the upcoming Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign after more than 24,000 forms were not returned during the previous campaign, affecting vaccine uptake in some schools.
The department said several challenges affected vaccine uptake, particularly in independent schools.
These included schools declining access to vaccination teams, learner absenteeism on vaccination days, which affected 1,830 learners, and the non-return of 24,327 parental consent forms.
According to the department, the campaign, which forms part of the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP), will run from August 3 to October 9, 2026 at participating independent primary schools across Gauteng.
