Barbadian children entering first form at secondary school (around 11 years old) will be able to have access to the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine soon, according to Dr. Elizabeth Ferdinand. In a news report to the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados, she said recently that the vaccine is to protect children from developing HPV, a known contributor to cervical cancer.
She stated that the vaccine is not mandatory, has few to little side-effects and a form must be signed by consenting adults. The vaccination is intended to prevent cervical cancer in young women by vaccinating them while young.
However neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago denominational schools have taken issue with the vaccination. The Ministry of Health has suspended its Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme for young girls at the primary and secondary schools following immense pressure from denominational school boards.
Many stakeholders were invited but could not attend , the Ministry there said and those were the Hindu School Board, Catholic School Board, Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association and Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women. While the HPV vaccine is suspended in schools , it has been moved to community centre in Trinidad.
“However, because of the concerns of some denominational boards, a decision has been taken to suspend the administration of the HPV vaccination through the ministry’s school-based immunisation programme,” the MOH statement said yesterday.
Thus, parents who wish to have children immunized must now visit community health centres or contact the Ministry’s Expanded Programme of Immunisation Department..
The Trinidad & Tobago Roman Catholic Church said on Monday it was opposed to the anti-cervical cancer vaccine in schools within its archdiocese and questioned the safety of the HPV vaccines being administered to pre-teen girls at several primary schools.
The Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM), supported by Archbishop Joseph Harris, said it “strongly recommends that parents of children attending Roman Catholic schools should desist from allowing their children to be vaccinated with Gardasil, pending further advice from CEBM” according to news reports in the Trinidad media.
“The CEBM has not been consulted regarding the Ministry of Health’s voluntary programme of vaccination against the HPV virus, which began in schools last week,” the release said.
Meanwhile, the HPV vaccine (while not mandatory) is known to have some side effects from rashes, to allergic reactions, blood clots and others but another medical source says “Government, academic, and other public health investigators could not identify the HPV vaccine as the cause of any severe adverse event. There were 56 deaths as of September 30, 2010, none of which could be directly tied to the HPV vaccine. The conclusion of public health investigators was that the HPV vaccine was unlikely to be the cause of these events. Such events occur at a certain rate in any group of tens of millions of people. The vaccination before each adverse event seemed to be a simple coincidence”
