HPV vaccine for year 8s The form from school came home today

[mrswotzisnotin]

Done

Anyone else got them yet?

[Wezzle]

Hiya Wotz

DD1 hasn't given me anything from the school

that doesn't mean it isn't crumpled at the bottom of her bag though

will ask her

[psychomum5]

my DD2 also came home with hers too.



she seems fine about it tho so am signing. was quite shocked to see it is three jabs tho. I had no idea!

[mrswotzisnotin]

They get a leaflet with it too. dd1 says she's read it.
Hi wez

[MaureenMLove]

Yep! Got DD's too and all Yr8 girls in my school went home with letters too. First jab is next Monday I think.

We're all agreed its the right thing to do, right? I feel like our Yr8's are the guinea pigs!

[mrswotzisnotin]

DH used to work in pharmaceuticals and he agrees its the right thing to do too Maureen.

[Wezzle]

Just checked and D1 says she hasn't been given anything

will keep an eye out for it though

Deffo the right thing to do

[psychomum5]

part of me feels very about it for that very reason maureen........

on the other hand, this must be safe for them to go nationwide surely.

surely.......

and then, I feel very very angry that my elder DD is not to be offered it as "girls in yr9 and above are most likely too late as they are more likely to have already had sex".

my DD has only just got her first boyfriend, and altho she has kissed, she has done nothing else (and I fully trust her on that...she is very naive re boys in that sense thankfully), and I feel that she is missing out on something that may be lifesaving just because some girls may have had sex.

argh.

[Wezzle]

Psycho don't blame you for being

Hadn't realised that was the ruling over it.

[MaureenMLove]

There's going to be a catch up program Psycho. You'll still be able to get it for your Yr9. I'd give your doctors a call.

[psychomum5]

ooh, thanks maureen....will give them a call.

I just feel that they are discriminating on the basis of a few, but then, why should I be surprised, it is what they do with everything!

[MaureenMLove]

I suppose they have to start and stop somewhere. Lets face it, we never had the meningistis jab when we were little, so we missed out there. In fact, the programme for the lastest meningistis jab wasn't offered to my dd as a matter of course. We had to join the queue for catch up. Just get that chastity belt on her, until she's had the jab!

[StellaDallas]

My 11 year old was very scornful about the cut off. As if we're going to be having sex when we're 14 she sniffed.

[TheRealMrsOsborne]

This year girls in year 8 and years 12 & 13 (College) will be offered it. Then next year it will be year 8, Year 11 & Year 12 and so on until all the current year 8's have left school and everyone is done.

Look out for letters between now and december as most school nursing teams will get them done for christmas.

[TheRealMrsOsborne]

Honest , don't let it be me that kills the thread

[fakeblonde]

My dd came home with leaflet today.
Sounds like a wonderful thing but i couldn`t give my INFORMED consent because there was no attached information that was there for me to read and make a choice.
All drugs even Paracetamol have side effects so i would prefer to have her go with me to GP where i will hopefully be told what they are actually requesting to put IN to my dd to prevent her getting cancer ?

[TheRealMrsOsborne]

www.immunisation.nhs.uk/Vaccines/HPV

[mrswotzisnotin]

That's a great website MrsO
I shall let dd look at it later. It must be all part of the same information because the logo and branding are the same as the leaflet she came home with yesterday.

[cupsoftea]

The vaccine lasts 6yrs the website says (or poss longer) & they're giving it to age 12/13 so for age 12 will not poss be working at age 18? Age of consent is 16 - so why give it to age 12? A 12-15 yr old at risk of hpv is a child at risk in general - needs sex education not a vaccine. Is risk & prevention of hiv mentioned at school?

[mrswotzisnotin]

Children are given information on risk and prevention at school. But you can do that at home too. Advice is free and can be given at anytime.

They are not sure how long the protection will last
"High levels of protection have been shown for at least six years in follow-up studies (and these studies will be continued for many years). Longer lasting protection is expected as antibody levels in vaccinated women have remained very high, well above the levels seen from natural infection in fact."

There are boosters.

If they are given it at 12 years (some are nearly 13 in Sep Year 8) That means they will be 18 or 19. Some will be mothers by then.

[LittleMyDancing]

Just a quick opinion on this - I am so in favour of this vaccine. I caught HPV from my first boyfriend aged 17 (thanks chum). Not only was it awful having to go to the GU clinic at that age, but I then had a dodgy smear a few years ago and had to have a Letz biopsy (where they burn off the dodgy cells)

I'm still on yearly recalls for smear tests (yuk) and if this sort of scenario can be avoided for other girls, I'm wholeheartedly in favour.

[mumofteens]

Please do some homework first before agreeing for your child to have this jab. There are no very long term studies. They don't know whether it could cause other types of cancer. How many booster shots will be needed? There have been lots of reported side-effects in the US from the sister drug Gardasil. Cervical cancer is quite a rare disease in the UK with a low mortality rate. It accounts for 2% of female cancers in the UK. It is mostly a disease of elderly women. It is not an epidemic. Please consider the pros and cons of this vaccine. I would not touch it with a barge pole - there is not enough long-term research on it. Best to teach children about sensible and safe sexual health (at an appropriate age) and to ensure a healthy diet and no smoking (which is strongly associated with cervical cancer).

[mabanana]

It is absolutely NOT a disease of elderly women. Where did you get that from? The main risk factor for breast cancer is age, but in cervical cancer the risk falls dramatically with age, as it hits about 10 years after infection with HPV which tends to happen quite early in your sexual 'career'.
While as you say, cervical cancer is quite rare, partly due to the succesful screening programme, peak incidence for cervical cancer is 25-29 and it is the second most common cancer in women under 35. If you have had three normal smears you can stop having smears at 64 because at this point your risk is so tiny.
official stats are here

[noddyholder]

I caught hpv from a boyfriend when v young.I had advanced cervical changes treated succesfully BUT in 2000 a spoy which I had had for years turned out to be a malignant tumour also caused by the virus.My oncologist said the vaccine would def have preventede this and the surgery and reconstruction i had afterwards were horrendous and v scary.I wish i had had it

[noddyholder]

spot

[wheresthehamster]

Why don't they develop one for boys?
Kill the virus at source IYSWIM