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Girls miss out on life-saving cancer vaccine

Pamela Welsh
1/ 5/2008

A LEADING doctor is encouraging parents to give their children a ‘life-saving’ jab against cervical cancer after almost a third of them shunned the vaccine in a pilot scheme.

Dr Peter Elton, Bury’s director of public health, warned parents of the dangers of not taking the jab against the virus that causes the disease, after figures revealed 846 of parents refused to allow their daughters to be vaccinated when it was piloted in Bury and Stockport last year.

A total of 2,817 parents were offered the vaccine but the uptake was only 1,971.

The jab works by protecting against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which causes 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer and is usually caused by sexual activity.

But the figures revealed in the British Medical Journal show that around three in 10 parents refused to give consent for their daughters to receive the jab.

The vaccine was given to girls aged 12 and 13 in Year 8 in schools across the borough, but only 70 per cent of the children eligible took up the jab, with the majority of parents claiming they did not know enough about the long-term safety of the immunisation.

But Bury’s leading doctor, who is based in Whitefield, claims the vaccine could save many lives in the future and explained why the injection needed to be administered at such a young age.

Dr Elton said: "We need to get the girls vaccinated before they are sexually active, and that is typically not for five years after that. Women don’t tend to get cervical cancer until they are 30 plus, so it will be very useful at that point.

"I don’t think it is exaggerating to call this a life-saving vaccine. Between five and 10 women die every year in Bury because of cervical cancer, and with this vaccine, we could put a stop to that."

He added: "There are a number of reasons why the uptake figure is only 70 per cent.

"Firstly, it was part of a research project and the results of that are not yet known so people had some reservations about that.

"Secondly, we may have missed a few girls who may not have been in school that day, but we are also rolling out a catch-up programme which will ensure that these girls do get the vaccine that they need."

Prestwich mother-of-two Angie Smith, 29, herself diagnosed and treated for cervical cancer two years ago, hopes vaccinating against HPV will mean her 12-year-old daughter Shannon, a pupil at Prestwich Arts College, will not suffer as she did.

Angie, of Randelshaw Street, said: "I think it is so important to get these children vaccinated.

"Don’t get me wrong, I understand parents concerns, particularly about promiscuity, but the vaccine takes a while to kick in.

"It is about making sure that we protect our children for the future."