Public Health
Survey
Help us improve our Health Website
Take 2-3 minutes to tell us what you are looking for today.
Your feedback will help us improve our site.
No thanks
Take 2-3 minutes to tell us what you are looking for today.
Your feedback will help us improve our site.
No thanksGrade 8 girls in Niagara are offered the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Gardasil) free of charge through school-based immunization clinics.
The vaccination will help protect against cervical cancer and genital warts. Almost all cervical cancers are caused by an HPV infection.
The HPV vaccine is an important medical advancement that makes cervical cancer a preventable disease.
Your child's teacher will send an information package home with your daughter in September. It contains a fact sheet on the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program for Grade 8 Female Students, and a consent form for parents to complete.
HPV - Protect Your Future is a video about HPV and cervical cancer shown to Grade 8 classes across Niagara (11 min.).
Talk to your doctor today if you have any questions or concerns about the vaccine.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, spread easily between two people through skin-to-skin contact.
Even if you have only one sexual partner in your lifetime, there is still a 40 per cent chance of catching one or more types of HPV.
HPV infections can go away on their own, develop into genital warts or lead to cervical cancer and other cancers such as mouth, throat and tongue. Every year in Canada, 1,400 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 400 will die from it.
There are two vaccines approved in Canada to prevent HPV and cervical cancer, and they have some differences - learn more about Gardasil and Cervarix.
You can also call Public Health's Vaccine Preventable Disease Program at 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7425 and ask to speak to a public health nurse.