READ ALL 'BOUT IT. PAPER. READ ALL 'BOUT IT. GET YOUR PAPER 'ERE

Alright! Alright! So what's all the din about Mate?

Why! Didn’t ya hear me cobber?

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccines. That’s what! Big news, Mate. Got it ‘ere in Oz first ya know. Stone the crows. Don’t yous know nothin, Mate?

This vaccine has the potential to save many lives from the ravages of cervical cancer. Controversial? It may be. This topic is well publicized by the media.

Media reports reflect concerns stated by some parents in the USA that allowing such a vaccine to be given to girls as young as 12 and 13 years of age may encourage promiscuity. At present time, there is no evidence to base these concerns upon.

In Australia, there is a strategic plan to vaccinate young women by targeting three groups. Firstly, an ongoing target group of 12 and 13 year old girls through a school-based program (this has already commenced). Secondly, a catch-up group of 13 to 18 year old girls predominately in a school-based program and thirdly, a further catch-up group of young women up to and including 26 years of age in a community based program.

Read for yourself, allowing you to make an informed opinion on this topic. This first link includes links to other articles, including this second link. The information in these links refers to Australia. However, wherever you live, be informed then consider your choices in consultation with the young women in your family and also in relation to the legal status of this vaccine in your country.

If you would like to leave a comment, please do. I will be away from Sunday morning 4th February to Tuesday morning 6th February, inclusive. However, following my return, I am happy to answer your comments. If you prefer to contact me confidentially, my email address is s.j.bayliss@bigpond.com.au – my sister and I are survivors of cancer. Our two brothers died from cancer. As siblings, two were diagnosed with identical cancer and two of us each had different kinds of cancer.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.