Lombard concerned at negative publicity on HPV vaccine

Concern at the negative publicity regarding the HPV vaccination in recent months was expressed in the Seanad by Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard.

“If we consider the success of other vaccination programmes, in the case of the measles, mumps and rubella, MMR, vaccine, we are seeking a compliance rate of 95%,” he said. “The current rate of uptake is 93% on foot of a positive campaign. As a father, I think it has been a very worthy campaign. Unfortunately, the rate of uptake for the HPV vaccine has dropped in recent years. The vaccine was first introduced in 2010. In 2013, the rate of uptake was 88%. That fell to 86% in 2014 and to 76% in 2015.  They are stating now that it is possibly as low as 50%. That is greatly worrying.”

Senator Lombard said the HPV vaccination gives women the opportunity to be vaccinated against cervical cancer, which is a silent killer. “It is an issue that we, as a society, must address,” he said. “In terms of the figures, 650 women will need to attend hospital treatment for pre-cancerous conditions regarding cervical cancer every year. Every year, 300 women contract the disease and, unfortunately, we lose 90 of them. It is a silent killer, and that is the reason vaccination is so important.”

In reply, Health Minister Simon Harris said he wished to assure Senator Lombard that one of his absolute priorities as Minister for Health, and a priority of the Health Service Executive, HSE, is to counter misinformation relating to the safety of vaccines, and to increase uptake rates of all vaccines in the State's immunisation programmes. “It is very clear that misinformation is causing real harm to unvaccinated children and to adults who develop vaccine-preventable diseases,” he said. “A number of years ago, the big political outrage on this issue was that the vaccine was not available to girls in this country and was not being funded.”