Councillor calls on Harney to allay vaccine rollout fears

FEARS that a lack of resources could delay the planned rollout of the cervical cancer vaccine next month has prompted Fine Gael Ennis Town Councillor Mary Howard to call on the Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney to intervene.
The local councillor wants Minister Harney to ensure that the screening programme goes ahead as planned, particularly given the success of the schools vaccination programme which has reported an 80% uptake in the vaccine by first year girls.
“Every year around 250 women develop cervical cancer and 80 women die from the cancer. Vaccination and screening is essential in the battle against this disease and after a year long delay the HPV vaccination programme was finally rolled on last May in 21 schools throughout this country,” Councillor Howard said.
She added that the vaccination programme is planned to extend to all other schools from September. “This will include all first year students not vaccinated before the summer and sixth-class girls going into second-level schools this year. The vaccine, Gardasil, is administered in three doses around two months apart.
“According to recent reports, 180,000 doses of the vaccine will have to be administered from September and there are fears that the resources are simply not in place to deliver the programme with public health nursing staff already under pressure to deliver on other programmes,” the councillor said.
She pointed out also that there has been an 80% uptake of the vaccine by first year girls who were offered the vaccine before the summer holidays (1300 girls in 21 schools according to the HSE).
“It was not ideal that these girls had to return in the middle of the school holidays to receive their second jab, but it would be totally unacceptable if the programme was curtailed and subject to further delays from September.
“If the high uptake of the vaccine is to be maintained then it is crucial that the rollout goes ahead as planned countrywide. If additional resources are required they must be put in place and Minister Harney must intervene to make sure that they are made available,” Councillor Howard stressed.