27/08/2019

Labour Call For HPV Vaccine To Be Extended Further

The Labour party has urged the Minister for Health to examine the next steps in extending the HPV vaccine further.

Alan Kelly's comments come after the Department introduced the vaccine for school aged boys, nine years after the measure was first introduced for girls.

The Labour Party health spokesperson welcomed the extension and called for further availability for those who did not have the opportunity.

"Extending the HPV vaccine to boys is a common-sense, evidence based measure which is already in place in countries like Australia," Deputy Kelly said.

"No doubt this move will be rubbished by the usual quarters but the facts cannot be ignored and we must trust the findings of medical professionals. We should challenge misinformed and lazily researched comments on the HPV vaccine to ensure that a misinformation campaign isn’t allowed to gain momentum.

"This move is one to be welcomed, but we must also think about what comes next when it comes to preventing HPV and eradicating cervical cancers. We need to have a national conversation on extending the HPV vaccine to men and women up to the age of 45, like they have started to do in the USA.

"In the wake of the Cervical Check scandal, I have heard from so many women in their mid to late twenties and early thirties who have never received the HPV vaccine, as they weren't in secondary school when the HPV vaccine was introduced in our schools in 2010. Extending the vaccine to this cohort would certainly put the minds of many young women who are anxious about this issue at ease.

"Next year I hope we will be celebrating that high numbers of girls and boys have received the HPV vaccine and the Minister for Health will have outlined how we will provide this vital vaccine beyond this cohort."



(JG/MH)

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