Alberta expands HPV vaccination program to include boys
Posted Dec 5, 2013 11:50 am.
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The Redford Government will start including boys in its free school vaccinations that protect girls from a virus that causes cervical and other types of deadly cancers.
The province says about 48,000 boys in grades five and nine are to receive the HPV vaccine starting next fall.
The vaccination was first offered to Grade five girls in 2008 and since then, the province estimates about 61-per cent of girls between the ages of nine and 13 have received the shots.
The vaccine protects against human papillomaviruses, which cause cervical cancer, head and neck cancers, anal and penile cancers and genital warts.
Prince Edward Island was the first province to extend the vaccine to boys.
Health Minister Fred Horne is encouraging parents to take advantage of the immunization program which he says will not only save lives but reduce future health care costs.
