<p>
	The Irish Cancer Society has warned parents not to be &ldquo;taken in by the fakery on social media&rdquo; in relation to the HPV vaccine, as figures show the uptake rate has fallen to 50%.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Dr Robert O&rsquo;Connor, head of research at the society, said information on the vaccine circulated via social media was &ldquo;post-truth&rdquo; and that parents should talk to health professionals rather than accepting what they read online.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;It is absolutely vital that people understand the importance of this vaccine in preventing cervical cancer,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	It has been endorsed by &ldquo;thousands of regulatory bodies, the US Centre for Disease Control, and the World Health Organisation&rdquo;, he added.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Dr Brenda Corcoran said the drop in uptake was of serious concern to public health officials.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Everyone involved in cancer control is very concerned about this,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	With initial figures for the 2016/2017 year indicating a drop to 50% in the uptake rate, down from 87% in 2014/2015, the HSE has written to parents offering their daughters a catch-up opportunity when the immunisation teams return to secondary schools next month to administer the second dose of the vaccine to first-year students.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	For girls who did not avail of the September dose, Dr Corcoran said they can be given a second catch-up dose later in the year. She warned girls could miss out on other vital vaccines if they did not present for the HPV vaccine as a tetanus booster is administered with the first dose and a meningococcal C booster with the second.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Dr Corcoran blamed the drop-off in uptake rates on lobby groups claiming that the vaccine caused serious health problems &ldquo;despite a lack of scientific evidence to back their claims&rdquo;.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	She said sometimes health issues surfaced in girls as they entered puberty, and that hormonal changes were to blame, rather than the vaccine.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;There is no increase in the rate of any long-term medical conditions in girls who have been vaccinated compared to those who haven&rsquo;t got the vaccine,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Each year in Ireland, around 300 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 90 die from the disease.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	More than 6,500 women are diagnosed with precancerous abnormalities of the cervix caused by HPV.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	For more information see www.hpv.ie</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 16th February 2017)</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/catch-up-hpv-vaccines-offered-as-uptake-declines-443044.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/catch-up-hpv-vaccines-offered-as-uptake-declines-443044.html</a></p>
