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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 15, 2007 - 5 Catholic trustees raise concerns about HPV vaccine By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Halton Catholic District School Board will debate prohibiting health department delivery of a vaccine on school board property at its meeting Tuesday. The board weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, during its Sept. 4 meeting, raising concerns about its legitimacy, as well as what its use will mean to the spiritual well-being of the students. Yesterday, the board released its agenda for Tuesday's meeting, including a notice of motion that states the board shares the regrets of the Bishops of Ontario and concurs with Hamilton Diocese Bishop Anthony Tonnos that more study is needed. It then calls for the board not to allow delivery of the vaccine in its schools in the 2007-2008 school year. It further calls for no delivery, advice or counselling on the vaccine to students during that same year -- and that if parents want their daughters to be vaccinated, they contact the local health department or family doctor. The vaccination program, which is intended to reduce the number of women in Ontario who develop cervical cancer, was selected for public funding on Aug. 2 by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. This means the presence of the vaccination program at publiclyfunded area schools is to be mandato- "I'm worried about the double message this may send to our young girls at such a delicate age. We tell them that God's plan for sex is within a marriage, so what does it say if you protect them against a disease they can only get through sex." Joanne Matters Burlington School Trustee ry, however, whether students participate is voluntary. The vaccine is to be given to Grade 8 girls since they are at an age where HPV infection is less likely to have occurred. For proponents of the vaccine the possible benefits of the publicly-funded program are many. "Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women in Canada currently and the stats reflect that 1,400 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year and 400 women will die of this disease," said Mary Ann Carson, Director of Health Protection Services Halton Region Health Department. Carson attended the Sept. 4 board meeting to educate the board on the vaccination program and listen to trustee concerns. "The other important factor of this program, now that it's publicly funded, is that it will reduce the financial barrier that prevents many individuals who do not have the financial resources to be able to purchase this vaccine. The vaccine currently costs between $150$160 per dose for individuals who do not have insurance." Despite the possible benefits of the program, numerous areas caused great concern. One was that HPV, the cervical cancer-causing target of the vaccination, is a sexuallytransmitted disease and there are many who feel that inoculating Grade 8 girls sends them the wrong message. "I'm worried about the double message this may send to our young girls at such a delicate age," said Burlington Trustee Joanne Matters. "We tell them that God's plan for sex is within marriage, so what does it say if you protect them against a disease they can only get through sex." Burlington Trustee Bob Van de Vrande had similar concerns that the young girls might get the wrong idea about the vaccine and requested that the literature being sent home with students concerning the vaccination program include a statement that the vaccination does not prevent other STDs. Whether or not the vaccine even works against HPV was another area of concern for the trustees. "I understand that there are lots and lots of strains of this virus and the vaccination only works against four of them," said Matters. Carson responded that there were in fact 100 sub-types of the virus, but she also noted that the four strains that are blocked by the vaccine are the strains that cause 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases and 90 per cent of genital warts cases. This information was of little comfort to Oakville Trustee Anthony Danko, who had problems with the quick introduction of the vaccine and the fact that Ontario is only the second province to publicly fund it. "I'm uncomfortable with Ontario girls being used as guinea pigs," said Danko who is now presenting the notice of motion at Tuesday's meeting. "The benefits of this vaccine are largely unclear," said Danko who was also concerned by the fact only one drug company is producing the vaccine. Carson responded that a similar situation existed for many accepted drugs including a meningitis vaccine that is given to infants. She also noted that the HPV vaccine had been approved by Health Canada. Parents would not have much time to decide if their daughters would receive the HPV vaccination. The first dose is to be delivered at the same time as the Grade 7 hepatitis B immunization period, which runs September and October. Subsequent doses of the threedose vaccine will follow in the November/December period and the April/May period. Children's Dentistry. We all know that first impressions can last a lifetime. Whether your child has been seeing a dentist regularly or is coming to our office for their first dental visit, Dr. Phelan and his team will go the extra mile to make sure that first visit to our office is a special one. We have an excellent new children's area in the reception room with a flat screen TV and playstation 3 with child friendly games and DVDs. 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