The availability of the vaccine to protect against certain types of cancer is being extended to men up to age 22, reports RTE.
Since its launch last year, the Laura Brennan HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) Supplemental Immunization Program has been offering free HPV vaccine to all high school boys and girls who were previously eligible for the vaccine in school and who have not yet received it.
From Tuesday, newly eligible people can register to receive the vaccine on the hpv.ie website until 31 December.
It is also open to women under 25 who have graduated from high school and have not been previously vaccinated
The vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause about 90% of cervical cancers, 90-95% of HPV-related anal cancers, and 90% of genital warts.
The program is named after Laura Brennan, who campaigned for greater use of the HPV vaccine before her death from cervical cancer in 2019 at the age of 26.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said: “It is by increasing HPV vaccination and screening among our population that we will finally reach our goal of eliminating cervical cancer in Ireland. I’m also encouraging young men to take this opportunity to protect themselves against a number of cancers caused by HPV,” reports RTE.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Breda Smyth said: “The HPV vaccine is proven to be safe and effective and it saves lives. I am urging all young people who did not previously avail of the vaccine in school to consider getting it,” reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Minister Donnelly said: “The vaccine is free, it will be administered via the vaccination clinics and it’s really important the vaccine protects men from several types of cancer, including mouth cancer, anal cancer, throat cancer. Also men can pass the virus on to women through sexual contact. So, it’s protecting women as well against cervical cancer and other cancers,” reports RTE.
“Our ambition is to eliminate cervical cancer in this country. A combination of HPV vaccines, HPV screening, earlier detection and better and better treatments mean that that is very much our ambition. And Ireland is being looked at around the world as a leading country in terms of vaccination and early detection and treatment,” he added, reports RTE.
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