Family Planning says every year New Zealand doesn’t have the HPV vaccine Gardasil available another group of young women become sexually active and are potentially infected with HPV – the virus responsible for cervical cancer.

 

 

Family Planning National Medical Advisor Dr Christine Roke says people become infected with the HPV virus very early in their sex lives. The value of the Gardasil vaccination is to provide women with long term protection against a disease which claims the lives of around 66 New Zealand women each year.

 

 

“Family Planning understands the economic constraints around the cost of adding vaccinations to the national immunization schedule. However, our call is for the Ministry of Health to put Gardasil on the schedule as soon as possible,” Dr Roke says.

 

 

 “The reality is that with Gardasil we know we have a tool to not just fight this disease but to prevent it occurring at all in a significant number of people. This is what Family Planning is advocating for.

 

 

“The facts are clear. Gardasil immunizes against the two main strains of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV) which are responsible for 70 per cent of cervical cancers. New Zealand has a high incidence of HPV and our young women are becoming sexually active earlier. With this vaccine, we have the potential to prevent 100 per cent of the cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18 – the types that cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers and 100 per cent of the types 6 and 11 that cause 90 per cent of the genital warts. Best results are achieved by vaccinating young women before they become sexually active.”

 

 

Some recent reports citing safety concerns about the vaccine are unfounded, Dr Roke says.

 

 

“Many of these comments have come from organisations whose views are shaped by a moral conviction rather than considering the internationally-recognised science in support of Gardasil. Reports emanating from Australia of young women fainting after receiving the Gardasil vaccine have been thoroughly investigated and reflect what the medical profession well understands to be common side effects of mass vaccination programmes - fainting and high levels of anxiety. High-level data, supportive of the Gardasil vaccine has also been published by the United States Centers for Disease Control. In fact, Gardasil has been trialled in over 25,000 women world-wide and regulatory authorities in over 70 countries have reviewed the data and found the vaccine to be safe and effective.”

 

 

Family Planning takes its position as a champion of people’s sexual health very seriously.

 

“Around 12 per cent of the visits to our clinics are by women seeking a cervical smear   – in fact, we offer training in effective smear taking to other health professionals. This is an area of expertise for our organisation and we’re disappointed that many young women will not be able to access this vaccine yet because of the cost,” Dr Roke says.

 

 

 “The potentially life-saving benefits of Gardasil will only be available in the short term to those who can afford the $450 fee for the three vaccinations so Family Planning is urging the Ministry of Health to review Gardasil’s place on the immunisation schedule.”