Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

IN order to ensure the smooth reservation of the HPV9 vaccine injection and a more equal opportunity to access the vaccination for females between 16 and 26 years old, the city is piloting a lottery system for the inoculation, according to the city’s health and family planning commission.

Registration officially opened yesterday, and a total of 1,305 slots are available for the first phase of the lottery, which is scheduled for Nov. 26.

The HPV vaccine is also known as a cervical cancer vaccine. Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and is highly preventable through screening and vaccination.

According to the commission, the HPV9 vaccines have been in short supply in Shenzhen since reservation for the vaccines was made available in August. From August to October, there were only 600 to 1,000 HPV9 vaccines available across the city.

On Sept. 7, the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched an online reservation service for HPV9 vaccines, which saw nearly 3.6 million visits. By October, the total number of visits had exceeded 9 million, causing serious network congestion.

“To ensure fairness and efficiency, we have adopted the lottery system so that every applicant has a fair chance at winning the draw,” said Xie Xu, head of the immunization planning institute of the Shenzhen CDC.

The city’s health and family planning commission launched the lottery system on its public WeChat account “szwjwwx” （深圳卫计委）yesterday, which is the only authorized platform for the lottery system. Residents can register, join the lottery and make a reservation on the platform.

After successfully registering, each applicant will receive an exclusive application code. The result of the lottery will be generated by the computer through random calculation and the whole process is subject to social supervision.

It is also noteworthy that the lottery system is not limited to permanent Shenzhen residents. After registration is completed, the system will continue to draw lots by default for one cycle, which is three months.

Applicants who fail to win the lottery must enter the lottery system again before the next cycle begins to confirm whether they will continue participating in the lottery.

The Shenzhen CDC also reminds applicants to provide their registration information and ID card when receiving the inoculation.

At present, HPV9 vaccines are not covered by health insurance. The whole course of the HPV9 vaccine inoculation requires three doses, and each dose costs 1,323 yuan (US$190.5).