Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has announced the HPV vaccine is to be made available free to all women under 25 to reduce cervical cancer rates.
“I have asked the HSE to provide options on how best to introduce a catch-up programme for young women who have now left secondary school and who did not receive the vaccine when they were eligible,” Minister Donnelly said to the Irish Examiner.
The vaccine substantially cuts the risk of developing cervical cancer and also protects against other HPV-related cancers and genital warts – which is why men are offered the vaccine as well.
The vaccine has been licensed since 2006 and since then over 350,000 people in Ireland have received it.
“This is an incredibly effective vaccine and I would like to see a catch-up programme rolled out as quickly as possible,” the Minister said.
“We have a number of young women who were offered the HPV vaccine and didn’t take it at the time.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is preparing new advice on whether to change from giving three doses of the HPV vaccine to just one, following a similar decision by British health authorities in February.
Speaking about the announcement, Irish Cancer Society chief executive, Averil Power said: “After many years of strongly advocating in support of the HPV vaccine and more recently for a catch-up programme, we welcome today’s significant announcement by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly that this will now be happening, and we recognise his leadership on this important issue.
“Around 400 women and men are diagnosed with HPV-caused cancers every year in Ireland. It is essential that nobody misses out on the protection against cancer the HPV vaccine gives so that we can achieve our shared goal of eliminating HPV cancers.
“The Irish Cancer Society urges every eligible person to get the vaccine once the catch-up programme is in place. We appeal to the HSE to develop an implementation plan as speedily as possible so that those who may have missed out can soon benefit from vaccinations.”