HPV Vaccinations Significantly Decreased in Ireland

Pharmacists located in Ireland should immediately be mobilized to administer the HPV vaccine after an alarming decrease in vaccinations in 2020, stated the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) on March 30, 2021.

About 53% of Ireland's students received a first dose of the HPV vaccine series in 2020 compared to over 80% in 2019.

School closures and the redeployment of school vaccination teams to COVID-19 vaccine roll-out have interrupted school HPV vaccination programs reported by the IPU.

IPU Secretary General Darragh O’Loughlin has called for this worrying situation to be immediately addressed by commenting, “Pharmacists are trained and experienced vaccinators and have consultation rooms at the ready. Allow pharmacists to help protect our future generations from the morbidity and mortality caused by cervical cancer and other cancers related to HPV."

Around 300 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in Ireland, with more than 90% of cervical cancer diagnoses from HPV infections, leading to around 90 deaths every year.

“Last year’s rates are particularly concerning, given the risks of not vaccinating and the strenuous efforts made by the HPV Vaccination Alliance to increase HPV vaccination rates. A window of opportunity is now available to substantially increase vaccination rates by providing a role for pharmacists in providing the HPV vaccine, Mr. O’Loughlin continued.

The HPV vaccine currently used in Ireland is called Gardasil 9. Over 300,000 people in Ireland have already been vaccinated with Merck's Gardasil 9, reports Ireland's Health Services.