Cervical cancer vaccination uptake at 82%

The uptake for the cervical cancer vaccination programme has reached 82% in its first year, it was revealed today.

Cervical cancer vaccination uptake at 82%

The uptake for the cervical cancer vaccination programme has reached 82% in its first year, it was revealed today.

The HSE rolled out the programme across the country in September 2010 targeting 60,000 girls in first and second year at school.

The free vaccine is aimed at preventing them from developing cervical cancer as adults.

The programme involves administering three doses of the vaccine over the course of six months.

Each year in Ireland, around 250 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 80 women die from it.

Dr Kevin Kelleher, assistant national director of health protection at the HSE, welcomed the high uptake.

“These are excellent figures for the first year of the programme and are equal to or greater than those achieved in the first year of programmes in other countries, for example UK and Australia, and are a great credit to the staff of the vaccination teams,” he said.

“The staff involved in the programme are to be commended for this achievement and particularly for the impressive retention of girls in the programme, in that 97% of girls who received a first dose of HPV vaccine completed the three-dose schedule.”

The national campaign aimed to achieve an 80% uptake for a completed course of vaccinations. It also includes a catch-up programme for all sixth-year girls, which will continue for the next three years.

Parents were sent information packs and asked to sign consent forms, and most of the vaccines administered were done so in schools, free of charge.

The Government made a dramatic U-turn at the start of 2010 to roll out the life-saving vaccine after initially claiming it could not afford to do so given the economic climate.

However drug companies agreed to lower their prices for the vaccine, which saw the cost of the programme, including the vaccine and administration costs, slashed from €16m to €3m.

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