— Nurse-in-charge of Georgetown municipality

TEACHERS from several Georgetown schools have been called out for discouraging students from taking the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) have launched an emergency HPV vaccine campaign from February 11- March 13, where they have upped the age of the recipients of the vaccine to 16, and have included boys.

This was done after several requests were made by the public. However, nurse-in-charge of the Georgetown municipality, Marlyn Gordon, said the execution of the campaign is posing serious challenges, since teachers are not welcoming, and they have been turning students against taking the vaccine.

This vaccine, Gordon explained, is very important, especially for females, since it protects them from cervical cancer. In males, she said, the HPV can put them at risks to other forms of cancer, so it is imperative that they protect themselves at an early age by taking the vaccine.

“From a school we visited yesterday, the amount of eligible children we had on our list was 103, and only 21of them received the vaccine. And the teachers play a great role in the response we are getting, because the students tell us all sorts of things that are said to them by their teachers. And for some other schools, we get a high response because the teachers assist us in encouraging the students to take the vaccine. So they play a great role in helping us to reach all the eligible students,” Gordon said.

Without disclosing the name of the school, she said that the students reported to the team of nurses that the teachers at the school have been telling them that the vaccine will make them sterile, so they must not take it.

Gordon also said that the negative publications about the vaccine, blaming illnesses on the vaccine, may also be a contributing factor to the low rate.

However, despite the challenges, they have been persistent with protecting the youths against forms of cancer prone to the virus.

“The Georgetown municipality is onboard with this campaign because they have three health centres: the Dorothy Bailey; Festival City and Albouystown Health Centre, all of which are assisting in administering the vaccine. In the Georgetown area, we are responsible for 14 schools and we have been going out on a daily basis to cover those schools,” Gordon said.

Close to 150 students, between the ages of nine and 16, she said, have received the vaccine in the campaign thus far, and they are hoping the number increase a great deal before the end of the campaign.

The MoPH is urging parents and teachers to cooperate in this critical process and to encourage their children to take the vaccine and be protected from cervical and other forms of cancers.