Text alerts will remind girls of HPV injections

Nov 4 2009 by Ian Bunting, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

A NEW service is available in Monklands to help girls remember to protect themselves against cervical cancer by receiving the next dose of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.

Girls can text the date of their first HPV immunisation to receive reminder alerts on their mobile phones for their second and third jabs.

To get the best protection, they must receive all three injections to the upper arm over a six-month period.

Dr David Cromie, Public Health Consultant from NHS Lanarkshire, said: “We are pleased that girls in Lanarkshire will benefit from the new text service which will help them to complete the three-jab course.

“This is an important opportunity for young girls to protect themselves against the future risk of cervical cancer and we urge girls who have not received the third dose of the HPV vaccine to contact their GP for further information.”

The immunisation programme began on September 1 last year and so far around 7200 teenage girls in Lanarkshire have completed the vaccination course.

The vaccine is being routinely offered to all girls across Scotland aged 12 and 13.

A catch-up campaign for girls born on or after September 1, 1990, is available so older girls can also be protected. Girls who have left school but are in this age group will be contacted by NHS Lanarkshire to make arrangements for their immunisation. Around 3700 girls in Lanarkshire who have left school and are eligible for the vaccine have not yet received their final injections.

About 100 women in Scotland die from cervical cancer each year and a total of 300 cases are diagnosed annually, which underlines the importance of the immunisation programme and of attending regular cervical screening appointments from the age of 20.

To register for the text service girls should visit www.fightcervicalcancer.org.uk