Catholic school board defies province, rejects vaccine

The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board has tonight voted to refuse to allow a provincially ordered vaccine to be administered in its schools.

Trustees voted against allowing doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to be given to girls in Grade 8 in school clinics.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that usually carries few or no symptoms.

But two HPV strains cause 70 percent of cervical cancer and two other strains cause about 90 percent of genital warts.

Four trustees voted to allow the vaccine in area Catholic schools.

Five voted against it.

The motion to permit vaccine doses was defeated after a heated debate.

A representative of Algoma Public Health said that the Algoma board is believed to be the only one in Ontario to refuse HPV vaccine.

Susan Kniahnicki, a program director at Algoma Public Health, said that the board's decision came as a shock to her and will likely surprise other Catholic school boards in the province that have voted to allow the HPV vaccination program in their schools.

"They've certainly debated the issue but ultimately they decided to go ahead with it," she said. "The vaccine is available outside of the school program at a cost of $400 to $500 altogether for the three doses."

Board Trustee Grace Tridico argued that vaccine programs do not belong in schools.

"It's a medical issue and vaccines belong in medical offices," Tridico said.

She went on to say that the vaccine is available for parents who decide it's appropriate for their daughters and she believes the government will end up having to pay for it for those girls, but will deliver it in an appropriate medical setting, not in a school.

At the last meeting board meeting, Trustee Laurie Aceti expressed concern that children may receive a vaccine and develop a serious allergic reaction after the administering nurse has left the school.

At that meeting, she also questioned whether the board's liability insurance would cover it in such a situation, if it allowed vaccines on school property.

But board officials have since determined this is not likely to be an issue.

Kniahnicki said the vaccine is currently available to females between the ages of nine and 26, either at their doctor's office or at Algoma Public Health's Health Promotion Centre in the Cambrian Mall.

"It's a preventive measure that is most effective when provided to young women prior to sexual activity," said Kniahnicki.

Tridico also argues that the purpose of the vaccine is not solely to prevent cervical cancer, which is not a sexually transmitted disease, but also to prevent genital warts, which are sexually transmitted.

"Two strains of HPV this virus vaccinates against are to protect against genital warts and two are to protect against cervical cancer," she said. "Why can't they make a vaccine that just protects against cervical cancer?"

Trustees Aceti and Kathleen Rosilius agreed, saying that allowing the vaccine would suggest to others that the board condones premarital sex, which would be contrary to Catholic values.

During a 10-minute question and answer period at the end of tonight's board meeting, Randy Schuran, a director for Ontario Parents in Catholic Education, asked Tridico to clarify her comment that it would be hypocritical to allow the vaccine in Catholic schools when abstinence is a Catholic value.

"I strongly believe that we should practise what we preach," Tridico answered. "Abstinence is one of the values that we teach our children, so I'm saying we should practise what we preach and stand by it."

Trustee John Caputo argued that depriving parents of this opportunity to protect their daughters from a potentially life-threatening disease at no cost to the family was wrong.

"Can we do this?" he asked, "I mean can we really not let them offer it?"

Board Chair Marchi Bruni stepped down from his seat briefly to make a comment, also arguing in favour of allowing the vaccination program on grounds that parents would be free to choose whether they wanted it or not.

The school could offer them the opportunity to get it at no cost if they decide it's right for their daughter, he said.

How trustees voted on motion to allow HPV vaccine:

- Regis O'Conner, against - Kathleen Rosilius, against - Grace Tridico, against - Conrad Bobiwash, for - Sandra Turco, for - Gerald Beerkens, against - Laurie Aceti, against - John Caputo, for - Lindsay Liske, for (via teleconference)

Kniahnicki said the school board's refusal to allow the HPV vaccine program is something that goes beyond Algoma Public Health, an issue that the health unit will have to discuss with the province.

John Stadnyk, the board's director of education, said there will have to be more dialogue with the health unit to see how this could move forward and the vote is likely to be the beginning of a long process.

After the meeting, Schuran also expressed concern that parents may not have been consulted in the board's decision not to allow the vaccine in its schools.

"None of the trustees mentioned anything about the parents wanting this," he said. "They basically made the decision for them."

Stadnyk said he believes parents had been fully informed of the board's involvement with the issue through the media and public comments about it, but few parents chose to comment to their trustees.

"The trustees did get one letter and a couple items of concern, but we didn't get a lot of parents writing in or calling them," Stadnyk said. "I think a lot of that had to do with the speed this was implemented."