FROM SEPTEMBER EACH YEAR, the HSE offers the HPV vaccine to girls in first year of secondary school, with parents and guardians given the option to allow their child to have it or not.

Back in 2016, uptake stood at around 51%, but thanks to a push from the HSE to fight misinformation around the vaccine and answer parents’ concerns about its safety, it has now risen to 62%.

Dr Breda Corcoran, head of the HSE’s National Immunisation Office told TheJournal that “the uptake rates have increased across the country in every single county”.

The campaign, which was launched last week and is seen in the video below, features 25-year-old Laura from Clare who now has terminal cancer stemming from a cervical cancer diagnosis.

If received before a person is sexually active, the vaccine can prevent the development of HPV which can lead to a variety of cancers. You can read our FactCheck on the HPV vaccine here.

At the moment, the HSE’s free HPV Vaccination Programme is first administered to girls in first year. It’s since been recommended that the free vaccine programme is rolled out to boys once uptake for girls is high enough.

So, tell us: Will your daughter be getting the HPV vaccine?