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| NEWS - July 8, 2008 |
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| Free HPV vaccine to all gr. 5 girls |
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By Lauren Den Hartog
Leader Staff
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Alberta Health announced on June 12 its plan to immunize young girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV) over the next couple of years.
"There are 20,000 girls every year who will be eligible and we anticipate in several years we’ll be getting about 95% per cent of those girls," said John Tuckwell, a spokesman for Alberta Health.
Beginning this September, all girls entering grade 5 will be eligible for the vaccine. A three-year catch-up program, starting in 2009, will make the vaccine available for grade 9 girls. The cost to Alberta Health will be roughly $10 million each year, plus an additional $10 million from 2009-2012 for the catch-up program.
"The province did its review of the scientific literature and the recommendations of a number of expert bodies and put the recommendation forward to caucus," said Tuckwell, when asked why the decision was made to offer the HPV vaccine at this time. "Caucus decided to do it now so that health regions can deliver that vaccine this fall."
According to Alberta Health, HPV is passed through sexual contact. The vaccine is most effective when given to girls before they are sexually active.
While Tuckwell recognized that there have been concerns from parents, he said overall the response is good.
"There are parents out there who have concerns about the young age group that we’re targeting but overall the response has been positive," he said.
"Many parents have been letting us know that they’ve been waiting for this decision.
According to the Alberta Government website, an HPV infection most often clears on its own within two years but can become chronic and lead to cervical changes and possibly cancer.
Gardasil, the vaccine being offered, protects against four of the 100 types of HPV, two of which cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers and two of which cause 90 per cent of genital warts, according to the Alberta government.
According to Tuckwell, the side effects of the vaccine, for the most part, are rare and include redness, itching and possible swelling.
"At times, given the age group, we anticipate that some young girls may faint but that’s more to do with immunization than with this particular vaccine," he said.
Dale Bujold, principal at Barrhead Elementary said he has no problem with the vaccine.
"I think that if the vaccine is going to keep kids healthy, then by all means," he said, adding that he has had heard no concerns from parents.
The Alberta government estimates that approximately 180 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. |
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