Who
knew vaccinating schoolchildren could stir up so much problems in Jamaica.
Health
Minister Dr Christopher Tufton as assured everyone that the girls are safe and
they are not guinea pigs to test the vaccine before rolling out nationwide to
girls in all grades, quote: “The ministry is not going to embark on anything
that will put the population at risk - certainly not our young girls. This is
not a trial-and-error programme and we are not using our people as guinea pigs.
We are not trying to prove anything to the world, population or any
pharmaceutical company or big-money interest. It is a tried and proven approach
and a science that is intended to make our population healthy as it relates to
the risk of cervical cancer”.
There
are about 22,338 girls in Grade 7 based on 2016 entry data from the Ministry of
Education. So what really happened.
Ministry of Health and
HPV Vaccinations – Ministry of Education call for halt of program
So
far only four high schools volunteered their Grade 7 as guinea pigs:
1. Oberlin
in west rural St Andrew
2. Papine
in eastern St Andrew
3. Titchfield
in Portland
4. Happy
Grove in Portland
Ministry
of Health Dr Christopher Tufton reported only 309 females received the vaccine,
while 21 said hell no. On Tuesday October 3, 2017 Grade 7 girls at the
following schools were on the schedule to receive the HPV Vaccine:
1. Westwood
High School in Trelawny
2. Muschett
High in St James
3. The
Queen's School in St Andrew
So
that's a lot of guinea pigs to keep track of, making this a mass experiment if
it really was.
This
as many school administrators called for a halt to the program and for more
knowledge to be decimated to school administrations about the logistics of the
programme, the benefits and reasons behind the initiative.
So
if this HPV Vaccine offers protection against Cervical cancer, why all the
noise about mass vaccinations intended to protect Grade 7 girls from
contracting the disease?
HPV and Cervical cancer
- Boys should also be vaccinated it causes Penile and prostate cancer
Cervical
cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. It is
caused by a virus, the HPV (human papillomavirus) and curiously, is a
multi-vector disease.
This
as it is transmitted as follows:
1. Sexually
transmitted
2. Skin-to-skin
contact
Basically,
you can get the virus via contact with sex or body fluids, a lot like the
common cold. Infection occurs at age 25, with 80% of sexually active
individuals contracting the disease. Three variants of HPV exist:
1. Type
16 and 18 account for 70% of cases of cervical cancer,
2. Type
45 and 31 the next most
3. Type
6 and 11 cause genital warts
For
young men thinking that this is a female disease, think again. HPV also causes
penile cancer.
Which is why there is now a push for boys to also as noted in
the article “Broaden
HPV Vaccination To Schoolboys”, published Friday October 6, 2017 by Paul
Jennings, The Jamaica Gleaner.
This
as the disease is not really gender specific, as it can be spread by boys to
girls and it can cause prostate cancer in males as noted in the article “HPV and Men - Fact
Sheet”. Truly troubling though, is the fact that in both men and women, HPV
has no signs or symptoms, and some persons never develop HPV problems.
Of
the 80% of sexually active individuals that contracting the disease, only 20%
develope precancerous cervical lesions, which, if left undetected, become
cancerous. Again all to like the common cold; many contract it but few may show
signs if they have a strong immune system.
In
Jamaica, HPV results in 30 cases for every 100,000 persons, second only to
Breast Cancer but higher than the infection rate in Cuba, which has fewer than
10 for every 100,000 persons.
So
is this disease preventable?
Pap Smear and HPV
Vaccination - After sensitization campaign both Boys and Girls need to be
vaccinated
The
answer is yes; The Pap Smear along with the HPV Vaccine is the key to
prevention.
HPV
is indeed preventable but early detection is necessary via having women do a
Pap Smear test. Pap Smear detects the
changes in cervical cells caused by HPV. This simple, yet necessary procedure
detects changes in the cervical cells before they get to a precancerous stage.
For
women it is usually done between the ages of 21 and 65 years and should be done
every one to two years. Even after vaccination, it still has to be done to see
the vaccine has boosted the immune system enough to prevent cervical cells
reaching the precancerous stage.
Vaccinations
are given in three doses over a six-month period. It prevents the developement of HPV into
cancer in 90% of those who are infected by the HPV virus. The Pap Smear occurs
later in life, the vaccine is best done before the girls become sexually
active, which is at age 10, around the same age as the 22,338 girls in Grade 7
based on 2016 entry data from the Ministry of Education.
However,
it can still be given after being sexually active, and after having HPV. It
works by giving the immune system a weakened version of the HPV to defeat, thus
allowing it to learn how to deal with the active HPV and thus prevent it from
invading the body's cells to do damage.
This
is where the issues comes in for parents, as the current policy stance by the
Ministry of Health stigmatizes Grade 7 girls, possibly making them feel
embarrassed if it is not fully explained why they are being singled out. Still,
the effects of the HPV vaccine are expected to be very mild according to Acting
Director of Family Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Melody Ennis,
quote: “Adverse effects are very mild. You are going to get a little redness,
you are gonna get some swelling, you are going to get fever, possibly, but no
severe reactions have been identified”.
Despite
fears, one fear has already been alleviated; no long lines albeit the vaccine
might make you dizzy as pointed out by Dr Melody Ennis, who addressed a media
forum held at the Pan American Health Organization offices in St Andrew on Saturday
September 30th 2017, quote: “It's not a case where students are going to be in
long lines and persons just stick them, we have made special provisions. They
must be seated, they must be observed for at least 15 minutes, and efforts must
be made to ensure that they don't fall”.
