B.C. public health officials are trying to ramp up education efforts for parents worried about the HPV vaccine given to their daughters.
British Columbia’s HPV vaccination rate is 62 per cent, far below the B.C. Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) goal of mid to high 80s.
Gina Ogilvie, associate medical director for the BCCDC, said some parents are hesitant to allow their daughters to be vaccinated because they have questions regarding the vaccination’s safety.
“We’re just letting everyone know that (family physicians) are an important place for them to get information,” said Ogilvie. “And we’ll be making sure family physicians have lots of information about the vaccine as well.”
The vaccine is being offered in schools for girls in grades 6 and 9. It protects against four strains of the HPV virus that cause 70 per cent of all cervical cancers.
