Growing resistance to the HPV vaccine in the Republic is reflected in the State’s inclusion in a meeting last week convened by the World Health Organisation(WHO) to discuss the issue. Ireland, Denmark and France stand out among European countries with a low uptake of the vaccine designed to combat cervical and other cancers.
The reduced HPV vaccine uptake is a recent phenomenon. Immunisation rates peaked at 87 per cent among girls aged 12 to 13 in 2014-2015. Preliminary figures suggest a recent precipitous drop to an uptake of 70 per cent. The primary reason for this is thought to be an international campaign by lobby groups claiming the vaccine causes significant side-effects.
Television programmes with emotive scenes are part of the anti- vaccine campaign which, in Denmark, has led to HPV uptake rates as low as 25 per cent.
A formal European Medicines Agency review into the HPV vaccine found it to be efficacious and safe. More than 100 million people have been vaccinated worldwide, with no evidence of long term side-effects.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus. Up to 80 per cent of males and females will become infected by 50 years of age. In addition to cancer of the cervix, HPV has been implicated in the development of cancers of the vulva, penis, anus and throat. Its eradication offers significant preventive health gains.
Confidence in the vaccine can be restored by means of a robust “winning hearts and minds” campaign. Many parents declining HPV on behalf of teenagers have no difficulty immunising younger children with other vaccines.
The reasons for selective vaccine rejection must be teased out. Similarly a recent global survey found a dichotomy between those who felt that vaccines are important for children to have, and those who agreed that vaccines are safe.
As part of a WHO response, the HSE’s National Immunisation Office must explore attitudinal subtleties among Irish parents as a key step in restoring HPV vaccine confidence.