Young girls in BC to be vaccinated against HPV twice instead of three times

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If you have a daughter under 15, how often she gets immunized against HPV is about to change, but the official provincial opposition doesn’t understand why the vaccine is still not being offered to boys.

Health Critic Judy Darcy says she plans on writing to and meeting with the health minister, who in the past has said the vaccine would not be offered to boys.

Darcy calls the decision disappointing. “There isn’t clear medical evidence that this would not also assist boys. Boys are vulnerable to a number of different cancers as a result of HPV, so I do not understand why boys will not be covered as well as girls.”

“I don’t know the minister’s reasoning on this,” she adds. “I have twin boys in my community of New Westminster who have gone public with this issue. They absolutely want to be able to receive this vaccination the same way that girls do. So, I’ll be asking the minister exactly those questions.”

The changes mean girls in Grade 6 will get the shot twice — just a few months apart — and the province will eliminate the booster given in Grade 9.

The ministry says it will reinvest any savings from the changes into increasing vaccination rates among girls, which currently sits at 69 per cent.

Alberta and PEI are the only two provinces in the country that offer the shot for free to boys.

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