Says studies haven't looked at long-term effects of the vaccine and booster shots
A Quebec women's health group is calling for a moratorium on a provincial program to immunize girls against the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer, warning the long-term effects of the Gardasil vaccine are not known.
"We are concerned because there are potential dangers on many levels," said Lydya Assayag, director of the Réseau québécois d'action pour la santé des femmes.
"We are dealing with a vaccine that was approved only in 2006. So, it's very recent. The clinical studies haven't looked at the long-term effects of the vaccine and the booster shots that have to be given four years or five years later."
On Monday, Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard announced the voluntary program as part of a $145-million plan to combat all types of cancer. Quebec is following the lead of a number of provinces, including Ontario, that have decided to go ahead with HPV vaccination programs.
The federal government is making available $300 million to the provinces for HPV vaccination. Quebec will receive $40 million in federal money to vaccinate girls in the 2008-09 school years. Girls and women age 9 to 26 will be eligible for the free shots.
A number of public-health experts, however, have questioned the wisdom of such a vaccination program. Abby Lippman, a McGill University epidemiologist, has argued there is no need for such a program because there is no epidemic of cervical cancer in Canada.
Assayag said 90 per cent of women carrying the virus clear it from their bodies within two years. What's more, the Pap smear is a tried-and-true test to screen for cervical cancer, she added.
Isabelle Merizzi, Couillard's press attaché, said the government won't suspend the program.
"This was not a political decision," Merizzi said. "We followed the recommendation of an immunization committee that examined the facts and the science."
Alain Porier, director of the Quebec Public Health Department, said parents shouldn't worry.
"We do believe it's a safe vaccine," he told The Gazette. "For all vaccines that are introduced, we never know the long-term effects.
"But in this case, we've had five years' of studies that have not demonstrated any serious adverse reactions to the vaccine."
aderfel@thegazette.canwest.com
