A CLINIC will be held in Ennis Primary Care Centre, Station Road, Ennis on Wednesday, January 18 as part of the Laura Brennan HPV vaccine catch-up programme.
The programme is available for those aged under 25 years who were previously eligible but have not received the HPV vaccine yet.
Eligible people can register on www.hpv.ie for an appointment for a free vaccine, which will be administered through HSE vaccination clinics and schools (2023).
The programme is supported by Bernie and Larry Brennan, parents of the late Laura Brennan who campaigned for higher uptake of the HPV vaccine before her death from cervical cancer in 2019, aged 26.
The most common cancer caused by the HPV virus is cervical cancer – cancer of the neck of the womb.
However, the HPV virus can cause other cancers and conditions that can affect boys, and since September 2019, boys have also been offered the HPV vaccine.
The more young people vaccinated – both boys and girls – the better the spread of the infection can be controlled and cancers prevented.
Free HPV vaccines will be offered to all boys and girls in second-level education who were previously eligible to receive the vaccine and who have not yet received it.
It is also open to young women under the age of 25 who have left secondary school and did not previously receive the vaccine.
If you are under 16 and want to get the HPV vaccine, you do not need to do anything for now. You will be offered a vaccination through your school or a HSE clinic in 2023.
Over 500,000 people have already received the HPV vaccine through the HSE school vaccination programme.
The clinic will be held in the Ennis Primary Care Centre from 9.30am to 1pm on January 18.
More clinics are being planned, the HSE has stated, and if you cannot find an appointment in your area now HSE communication channels will be used to alert people when more opportunities are available to get vaccinated.
Further clinics are also taking place in other counties, and details of these are available when booking your appointment on www.hpv.ie.
The programme embodies Laura’s message of vaccine promotion and will encourage and facilitate further uptake of this life-saving intervention.
The vaccine, which is proven to be safe and effective, protects against the types of HPV that cause 9 out of 10 cervical cancers.
The Laura Brennan HPV Vaccination Catch-Up Programme is open to those who have not received a HPV vaccine and are:
Females who have completed second-level school and are 24 years of age or younger
Females in 2nd – 6th year of secondary school
Males in 2nd to 4th year of secondary school (or 5th year if they have skipped transition year this school year).
The HPV vaccine will be delivered by HSE vaccinators and is available free of charge through HSE vaccination clinics and schools.
The first year school immunisation programme will continue as normal throughout 2023. The National Immunisation Advisory Committee has recently advised that only one dose of HPV vaccine is required in those aged under 25. Most people will only need 1 dose of HPV vaccine. However, anyone with a weak immune system will require three doses. Visit www.hpv.ie for information.