Vancouver Island nurses to offer HPV vaccine to high school seniors – BC [Video]

Nurses on Vancouver Island will be heading to schools soon to offer a vaccine to grade 11 and 12 students.

They will be offering the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that helps protect against types of the virus that can cause cancers of the cervix, anus, mouth and throat, penis, vagina, and vulva, as well as genital warts.

“Nurses continue to routinely visit students in grade 6 to offer the HPV vaccine and now we are offering this to students who may have missed it in the past,” medical health officer Dr. Christina Kay said in a statement.

“When given at a young age, the HPV vaccine is nearly 100 per cent effective at preventing infection of the most common types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer, other cancers, and genital warts.”

Typically, the HPV vaccine is administered in Grade 6.

Across Island Health in 2023, an average 55 per cent of children in Grade 6 were immunized for HPV …