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Vaccine decision must be reversed: Northan

The following news release was issued today by Algoma Public Health, on behalf of Medical Officer of Health Allan Northan: ************************* HPV vaccine decision must be reversed The October 17th meeting of the Huron Superior District Catholi
AlanNorthan

The following news release was issued today by Algoma Public Health, on behalf of Medical Officer of Health Allan Northan:

************************* HPV vaccine decision must be reversed

The October 17th meeting of the Huron Superior District Catholic School Board raises serious concerns about equity and fairness.

Females are at risk for developing cervical cancer when they are infected with HPV.

How do females get HPV?

They get it from males who are infected with HPV.

Males do not face the cancer risk that females do.

If the issue is that sex outside of marriage is sinful then why should only the female pay?

The female should be protected with HPV vaccine.

A disease similar to HPV in terms of associated risk factors is Hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is predominantly a sexually transmitted disease or a disease transmitted through the intravenous use of contaminated needles.

These behaviours put both females and males at risk of contracting serious liver disease which can lead to liver failure and liver cancer.

The uptake of Hepatitis B vaccine for the past 12 years has generally been above 90 per cent in Algoma Catholic schools.

Hepatitis B can harm both males and females and there has never been an outcry against the Hepatitis B vaccine.

There was a high uptake because families in both the Public and Catholic school system felt (and rightly so) that their children should be protected.

Has the Catholic school board reacted against HPV vaccine because it is only females who suffer the terrible consequences?

Has any Catholic female had a PAP smear?

I hope so because this test is good for picking up early cervical cancer so that intervention can eradicate the cancer.

But the early cancer was caused by a sexual contact, HPV infection being about the only way that cervical cancer will occur.

Five Catholic trustees voted against HPV vaccine?

Have any of these female trustees ever had a PAP smear?

Have the wives of any of the male trustees ever had a PAP smear?

Will the young female family members of those who voted against HPV vaccine ever have a PAP smear?

I sure hope these females will have PAP smears but a positive test means sex outside the marriage (for someone) has occurred.

Is the Catholic Board going to urge Catholic females, young or old, not to have PAP smears because that would be an admission of sin (either by the female or her male partner)?

I sure hope not.

The PAP smear may be replaced by an HPV test in the future and this even more clearly would indicate the presence of a sexually transmitted disease.

We need to provide protection and prevention when it is available.

Ontario Catholic Bishops state that sexual activity should happen within marriage.

This practice can lead to a healthy emotional and physical state but for centuries it is clear that many people, Catholic and non-catholic, do not adhere strictly to that teaching.

Do those who stray from the religious teaching deserve to face the risk of getting very sick or dying?

If that is the view of the Catholic trustees, sacrifice male Catholics too and ban the hepatitis B vaccine.

That in my mind would not be a Christian act.

To suggest that the vaccine can be given but not in the schools is incredibly dangerous because the school setting is known to achieve very high uptake levels of vaccines but outside the school setting uptake is comparatively very low and many of those who would benefit from the vaccine will not come forward.

The vaccine was approved by Health Canada in 2006 and met the same safety standards as all other new vaccines.

Gardasil has been extensively tested for over five years in international studies involving over 20,000 women and like any new vaccine, adverse effects will be tracked.

Very few adverse effects have been reported to date, primarily soreness at the injection site, a typical reaction to most vaccines.

This vaccine has been shown to be safe and over 90 per cent effective.

The vaccine has been endorsed by the World Health Organization and the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization, which is a group of independent experts.

It has also been endorsed by the Canadian Cancer Society, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health, Cancer Care Ontario and the Canadian Paediatric Society.

The vaccine has now been approved for use in 80 countries around the world.

School-based programs have also begun in the US and Australia.

I would ask the Ontario Bishops to address the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board.

The rest of Ontario Catholic Boards took the Ontario Bishops' advice and pushed the religious message that sex should occur in marriage but families should decide how to protect their children and HPV vaccination is taking place in all Catholic schools in Ontario except for Algoma.

I urge the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board to support the health benefits of HPV vaccine as they have for so many years supported the enormous benefits of hepatitis B vaccine.

Offer both HPV and hepatitis B vaccines for the protection of Catholic children as they face their adolescence and future adulthood.

Either do that or ban both vaccines and send a message to Catholic families that in Algoma they may pay a big price for being imperfect and no human is perfect, not even the trustees who are passing this judgment on families and children in Algoma.

************************* Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story

Catholic school board defies province, rejects vaccine


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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