CANADA: Cancer Campaign Falls Short

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

CANADA: Cancer Campaign Falls Short

Guelph Mercury (Ontario) (12.20.07) - Thursday, December 27, 2007
Lisa Varano

Susan Otten, program manager of vaccine preventable diseases at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, said she expects participation rates to rise for a free vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer. So far, only one in two grade eight girls eligible have taken the vaccine, which protects against four strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), two of which cause 70 percent of cervical cancers.

Otten said when hepatitis B and meningitis C vaccines were first given to grade seven students, the participation rates were just as low. However, Otten noted, the HPV vaccination rate in the Guelph area is in line with the provincial average of about 50 percent.

"It's a new vaccine," Otten said. "Parents just want to make sure it's safe."

Otten said the main risk of the vaccine is a rare allergic reaction, and it may cause a sore arm. In the future, Otten said, the health unit aims to provide the vaccine to between 85 and 90 percent of grade eight girls.

The HPV vaccine is most effective if given to girls who are not yet sexually active. Ontario announced the vaccination program last August and began it at the start of the school year. Television ads alert some local girls to the program.

Girls in grade eight can get the first dose of the vaccine free from public health until March. Otherwise, the vaccine costs $140 (US $143) for each of three doses.

Some 500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in Ontario, and up to 140 women in the province die from the disease annually.
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