Half of eligible schoolgirls declined HPV vaccine last year
At least 40 women will die because they refused to take up the HPV vaccine last year, according to the Irish Cancer Society.
Another 100 will need life-changing treatment and a further 1,000 will require invasive therapy as a result.
Figures from the HSE show half of eligible schoolgirls declined the vaccine in the last academic year.
They claim a misinformation campaign has affected the uptake.
Brenda Corcoran from the HSE says figures from other countries show the vaccine does work.
"We know that the vaccine protects seven out of ten of those cancers, so the figures speak for themselves in countries such as Australia and Scotland. They are seeing an impact in these figures," she said.
"The numbers of girls who are developing pre-cancer are dropping. The number of girls developing cancer are dropping. If we don't protect girls with the vaccine we won't see those figures dropping either."
