Cervical cancer vaccines will be restricted to 12-year-olds
Wednesday August 06 2008
THE first major step in introducing a cervical cancer vaccine for 12-year-old girls by September 2009 was announced yesterday by the Minister for Health.
However, a "catch-up" vaccine programme for girls aged 13 to 15 has been ruled out due to budgetary pressures.
The Human Papillomavirus Vaccines (HPV), which the HSE will now start tendering for, will prevent girls from contracting a virus which can cause cervical cancer in later years.
Cervical cancer is currently the eighth most frequently diagnosed cancer in women in Ireland. In 2004 alone, 200 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, while more than 90 women died of the disease.
Announcing the decision to ask the Health Service Executive [HSE] to enter into a tender process with two pharmaceutical companies, Health Minister Mary Harney said the first hurdle would be to secure an 80pc take-up among parents of 12-year-olds.
Ms Harney added that many parents would not yet be aware of the importance of the new vaccine and of the medical breakthrough involved in preventing cervical cancer. However, she predicted that the "vast majority" of parents would give their consent.
The second hurdle would be to ensure that the vaccines can be provided on a "cost-effective" basis given the "tough year" ahead for the country's finances.
Extending
The Health Information and Quality Authority [HIQA] previously recommended that the vaccine be introduced for 12-year-olds in primary school at a cost of €10m, then extended into secondary schools, for girls aged 13 to 15, at a further cost of €29.9m.
However, Ms Harney yesterday ruled out extending the vaccine for 13 to 15-year-olds for "cost reasons" and the "competing demands" of other service programmes.
"It's not possible always to do everything. Like other programmes, you have to start somewhere and there has to be a cut-off point, so the decision has been made not to proceed with the catch-up for cost reasons," she said.
"Clearly, if we're going to do this in primary schools, we'd be doing it in sixth class. If we were to have a catch-up programme, we'd have to do it in second level schools."
Next September, some 26,000 girls will be eligible for the HPV vaccine, and must obtain the consent of their parents for the preventative programme.
Last night, Fine Gael's health spokesman James Reilly gave a cautious welcome to the announcement.
"The Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat Government's woeful track record on delivery means it's hard not to greet new announcements with some scepticism," he said.
The Fine Gael spokesman said the statement of Ms Harney was not even the announcement of a plan but the "announcement of a plan to put in place a plan."
He also expressed concern about the decision not to have a catch-up programme for 13 to 15-year-olds.
"The minister's decision to put money before lives against the advice of HIQA is difficult to justify," he said.
- Aine Kerr Political Correspondent
