Parents hesitant about cervical cancer vaccination By KIM THOMAS and REBECCA TODD - The Press Last updated 09:45 18/05/2009
Some Canterbury parents are hesitating to get their daughters vaccinated against cervical cancer because they fear it will make the teenagers sexually active. A third of Canterbury girls eligible for the free vaccination have had the jab since the programme started last September.
In Canterbury, the Gardasil vaccine is administered by GPs, while girls in other parts of the country can get the injection at school.
The Canterbury District Health Board's project manager for the Gardasil vaccine, Alison Young, said the board was pleased with the number of girls who had been vaccinated. However, there were concerns and misconceptions that meant parents were not getting their daughters immunised, she said.
"Some parents are delaying due to their daughter not being sexually active, and that 12 years is too young," Young said. "Research has shown that the vaccination is more effective in girls nine to 15 than older age groups."
Young said more than 7000 girls had been vaccinated so far. Girls aged 18 and 19 were eligible for free vaccination from September last year, and the programme was extended to girls as young as 12 in January. Young said some parents believed the vaccine lasted for only five years, but research showed it was as effective after five years as when first injected.
Twenty-two South Island schools, including eight Christian schools, have opted out of the Gardasil vaccination programme.
Gardasil protects girls from a sexually transmitted infection, the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to 99 per cent of all cervical cancer.
Some Christian groups argued against the vaccination, saying it would encourage promiscuity in young girls. South Island schools that have chosen not to offer the vaccination include St Josephs in Balclutha, the Tasman Christian School, St Peter Chanel in Motueka and Holy Family School in Wanaka.
Principals at St Joseph's and St Peter Chanel said the decision was based on numbers, rather than morality, as they had only a couple of eligible year 8 girls. Holy Family School board chairwoman Yeverley McCarthy said the school had just a "handful" of eligible girls and did not want the vaccination given on school grounds. "We felt it was a conscience decision for the parents," she said.
Christchurch Bishop Barry Jones said New Zealand bishops had met the Catholic bioethics agency, the Nathaniel Centre, to discuss Gardasil. The bishops agreed girls could receive the vaccine, and the decision was in the hands of their parents. "The most effective way to avoid this disease is to abstain from sexual relations before marriage and to be faithful within marriage," Jones said.
"However, I am aware that the spread of HPV is not limited to sexual contact and, therefore, the vaccine is a morally acceptable method of protecting against the disease." Greg Simmons, the Health Ministry's chief adviser for population health, said the ministry was pleased with the uptake, which had been "slowly but steadily climbing over the past eight months".
"We recognise that this is a new immunisation for New Zealand and understand some parents may take a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether to have their daughters immunised," he said. Eighty girls had experienced adverse reactions to the vaccine, but most were minor, such as injection-site pain, nausea or raised temperature, Simmons said.
GARDASIL More than 99 per cent of all cervical cancer is linked to infection with HPV.
About 80 per cent of sexually active people become infected by HPV, with the peak incidence of infection in New Zealand women being between the ages of 16 and 20. The HPV vaccine has been shown to have an excellent safety profile and has been licensed for use in more than 100 countries.
The vaccine protects against the four strains of HPV that cause 70 per cent of cervical cancer and 90 per cent of genital warts.
To be most effective, the vaccine needs to be given before a young women becomes sexually active. Immunised girls will still need to have cervical smear tests every three years from the age of 20 if they are sexually active.
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