Nova Scotia to fund HPV vaccine

by Kaitlin | June 21, 2007 at 11:22 am | 581 views | add comment

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I am still in doubt as to whether or not the HPV vaccine is really necessary (most doctors will tell you that regular pap smears are as effective in predicting and preventing HPV and cervical cancer) and whether or not it's a Big Pharma cash grab. Still, if it's going to be pushed on us, it had better be free--which is now the case in Nova Scotia. I'm just wondering if parents can opt their daughters out...and how long it will be before boys are vaccinated too (boys are carriers of HPV).

Nova Scotia was the first, outlining a plan to offer the vaccine to 6,000 Grade 7 girls starting this fall. The vaccine, which comes in three doses administered over six months, costs about $600 if the patient's family pays for it privately.

"This makes sense because it's a captive audience. We recommend all provinces do it the same way," said Dr. Guylaine Lefebvre, incoming president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. "I work with a population that most needs this, but can't afford it," she said. "I can hardly wait for it to become available."