Tag Archives: Laura Brennan

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 …

THE parents of the late Laura Brennan have spoken of their pride at the impact of her campaigning and of the comfort they receive from knowing how many lives will be saved through a vaccination programme named in her memory. They were speaking as Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced the opening of the HSE’s online registration portal for the Laura Brennan HPV (human papilloma virus) Vaccination Catch-Up Programme. 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. 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. 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 up to …

Since 2019, the fight against “fake news” has become the motto for the public HPV vaccination campaign in which Laura Brennan and her group played a major role. That is one of the key messages from a new UK study by medical and data experts who analysed how the late Ennis HPV vaccine campaigner and her family helped to achieve a significant increase in the cervical cancer vaccination rate in Ireland by overcoming “fake news”. In this research, the authors studied vaccine hesitancy in relation to Covid-19 in France and Italy and then contrast this with the HPV vaccination discourse in Ireland. The report ‘Fighting Fake News: Online Disinformation in Covid Times’ is one of seven research studies funded under the British Academy’s Covid-19 Recovery: building future pandemic preparedness and understanding citizen engagement in the G7 programme. In 2010, the Irish government introduced a national vaccination campaign for young girls and boys against HPV. Up until 2015, a stable rate …

THE roll-out of a new Laura Brennan HPV Vaccination Catch-up programme and the increase in vaccination rates has been described as a “game changer in Irish health”. That’s the view of her parents, Larry and Bernie, who have vigorously continued their daughter’s courageous advocacy work before she died from this cancer, with the help of their three children, Colin, Fergal and Kevin. “In the long term, it will result in a big savings as cervical cancer treatment costs a huge amount. Vaccines do save lives, it could have saved Laura’s. We promised Laura we would continue her work after she died until we got to where we did.” Laura’s key message when she was awarded the 2019 Clare Person of the Year Award was to “live the best possible life you can”, which is also on her gravestone. Larry stressed ordinary people can make a difference, recalling his son, Kevin and some friends came up with placing the HPV logo …

A LATE Ennis HPV vaccine advocate has been honoured with a new catch-up vaccination programme that is named after her in collaboration with the Department of Health. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly lauded the tirelessly campaigning work of Laura Brennan when he spoke to reporters outside University Hospital Limerick on Thursday. Minister Donnelly and the family of the late Laura Brennan, have announced the Laura Brennan HPV Vaccine Catch-Up Programme.   Laura died with cervical cancer at the age of 26 in March 2019 but her legacy of advocacy of the HPV vaccine has lived on. Last October, she was honoured with a portrait in the Royal College of Physicians and the RCPI shared an image of Laura’s portrait recently to mark what would have been her 30thth birthday. “We remember her courage and grace as she bravely shared her story while advocating for the HPV vaccine. “Laura’s portrait sits proudly in our historic No.6 Kildare Street, a reminder of her …

AN announcement by the Minister of Health that the HPV vaccine is to be made available free of charge to all women under 25 has been welcomed by the family of the late Laura Brennan. Since Laura’s passing three years ago the Brennan family have fought tirelessly to increase awareness of, and access to, the life saving vaccine. The Brennans are now stepping away from the campaign with Laura’s father Larry saying, “As a family we feel that we have achieved what we set out to do.” Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has written to the HSE telling it to outline a vaccination programme for women, as well as a catch-up programme for girls and boys in secondary school who missed out for various reasons including the pandemic. In a message posted on social media confirming the move, Minister Donnelly paid tribute to Laura, who died from cervical cancer in 2019, and the Brennan family. “Our goal it to eradicate …

THE family of HPV vaccine advocate the late Laura Brennan have appealed for a catch-up programme for those who missed out on the vaccine, writes Jessica Quinn. The family have made an urgent appeal to the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) for such an initiative to be put in place. The State’s HPV vaccine programme has not been administered in schools as usual for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Brennan family feel “the time is now right” to welcome vaccination teams back to the school setting. On HPV Awareness Day this month Laura’s brother Kevin on behalf of the family urged NIAC to roll out a programme that would allow teenagers who could not get the jab in their first years because of Covid to receive the vaccine. In a social media post he pointed out that the catch-up programme is available in the UK and Australia free of charge. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly recently …

A PORTRAIT of the late Ennis health campaigner Laura Brennan has been unveiled at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Laura, who died in 2019 of cervical cancer aged just 26, worked tirelessly in her final months to promote the HPV vaccine. Laura’s portrait is the first of a health advocate who is not a doctor to be added to the RCPI’s collection. Laura’s family travelled to Dublin for the unveiling, describing the portrait as a “fitting tribute to Laura who was a truly wonderful person and is testament to her outstanding contribution to boosting the take up of the HPV vaccine in Ireland. Her legacy will continue  into the future and we are delighted to be here today in this historic building for this very special occasion.” The portrait was launched at the start of the RCPI annual flagship event, St Luke’s Symposium that focuses this year on Global Vaccination. The painting has been hung in the Stearne room in No 6 …