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Just 66 percent of eligible fifth-
through ninth-grade Edmonton girls took advantage of Alberta’s free human
papillomavirus vaccine program in 2010-11. Edmonton has the province’s highest
in-school vaccination rate, followed by Calgary with 60.8 percent. The rate in
central and southern Alberta was 55 percent, while the northern health zone’s
rate hovered at around 50 percent.
In contrast, the province posts much
higher rates for other inoculations. Roughly 94 percent of ninth-graders
receive the booster shot for measles, mumps, and rubella, while 84 percent are
vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Chief Medical Officer Andre
Corriveau said Alberta’s experience is similar to that of other provinces.
“There was a lot of controversy” when the Gardasil vaccine came on the market
because it protects against an STD, he said. “It was quite strident and
virulent, and it made a lot of people think, ‘I’m not sure I want my daughter
to get this vaccine,’” he said.
Some Catholic school boards,
including Calgary’s, do not allow school-based HPV vaccination on the grounds
it could encourage sexual immorality.
“This is a very effective, very safe
vaccine against a very common and aggressive form of cancer,” Corriveau said of
Gardasil. “It’s not complete protection, but it does protect against the most
virulent forms of the virus that can cause cancer.”
According to Corriveau, the province
is considering whether to offer HPV vaccination to boys. Doing so would protect
males from anal, oral, and pharyngeal cancers, as well as provide additional
coverage for their female partners. The cost-benefit analysis of that plan has
not yet been determined, he said.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
