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Ontario Says HPV Vaccination Program to Wait on Medical Report

By Hilary White

TORONTO, July 24, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Ontario government has told the Toronto Board Of Health that plans to vaccinate all Ontario women and girls between the ages of 9 and 26 for HPV will have to wait on a report from medical experts later this year.

In February this year, the federal government announced its plan to vaccinate women and girls across the country and has pledged $300 million for the project.

The vaccination of children as young as nine was recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). According to NACI, the primary age group recommended for vaccination is females aged 9 to 13.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and is now known to be the cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer in women. It is also linked to anal, penile and throat cancer in homosexual men.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says there are over 100 types of HPV and that there is "no treatment which can cure HPV infection." The recommendation therefore is for prevention, for which the Health Agency says the best way is a vaccine or a condom. However, no mention is made on the Health Agency website of abstinence from sexual activity or monogamy within marriage as a means of prevention.
 
The Agency says only, "Other ways to reduce your risk of infection are to delay sexual activity (waiting until you are older), limit your number of sexual partners and to consider your partners' sexual history as this can create a risk to yourself."

The HPV vaccine, called Gardasil, has only been approved by Health Canada for use in women to prevent cervical cancer. Gardasil is as yet only approved for use on women.

The push for a mandatory vaccination of young women and girls was backed by the drug company Merck and Co. that developed Gardasil. The company has admitted channelling funds to change state-level laws in the US for similar mass vaccination programs.

In February of this year, however, Merck and Co. cancelled lobbying efforts to push for mandatory vaccination in the United States after it was revealed that Gardasil had numerous adverse side effects, including possible death.

Legislation has been introduced in at least five states that would make vaccination for HPV mandatory for young girls, including Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Merck Drug Company Drops Campaign for Mandatory HPV Vaccine
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07022109.html

Canada's Conservative Government Distributes $300 Million to Provinces for Controversial HPV Vaccination
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07032106.html

Drug Conglomerate funds campaign to impose Mandatory HPV Vaccine on Young Girls
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020204.html

Texas Gov. Issues Executive Order Approving Mandatory HPV Vaccines for Girls 9-11
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020505.html

HPV Condom Study Shows The Failure of Condom Education
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06063009.html

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