Government needs to roll out a HPV vaccine catch-up campaign

I have been working closely with the Irish Cancer Society to push the Government to roll out a new HPV vaccine catch-up scheme.

Over recent months, I have been leading a campaign to ensure the Government follows through on its promise to reintroduce the Laura Brennan HPV vaccine catch-up programme. I have been pressing the Department of Health and the HSE for clarity when the initiative – which was promised in the new Programme for Government in January - will be delivered.

However, until recently I had received no definitive answers.

I recently wrote to the Minister for Health about the current take-up rates of the HPV vaccine and the need to provide access to the vaccine for those who may have missed out in school. We know that each year, thousands of school children, for whatever reason, have not taken up the vaccine when offered. There should be a mechanism that they can make up for this, later on, and the Laura Brennan programme offers such a mechanism.

Since January, I have raised the issue multiple times in the Dáil, including directly with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. In a speech before the Dáil summer recess, I spoke about my conversation with Lucy, a 20-year-old student who now faces a bill of up to €600 to get vaccinated. As a third-level student, she doesn’t have that disposable income.

Why does she have to fork out 600 quid for a potentially life-saving shot, when only six months ago the Government promised to re-run the catch-up vaccine scheme?”

Thanks in part to this continued pressure, the Government has now committed to a schools-based HPV vaccine catch-up programme. However, campaigners and advocates - including the Irish Cancer Society who I have been working with on this issue - stress that more will be needed going forward to ensure full access for all who missed the vaccine, regardless of age or financial means.

I will continue to push the Government to ensure that a HPB catch up campaign for young adults is rolled out in the near future.