From 60 per cent uptake to 0.8 per cent: FMWC HPV Task Force White Paper Highlights Solutions to Ontario's Lagging HPV Vaccinations

The Federation of Medical Women of Canada convened a task force to address the crisis in the Ontario school-based HPV immunization program

OTTAWA, ON, April 25, 2022 /CNW/ - Marking the first day of National Immunization Awareness Week, the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (FMWC) is releasing a White Paper written by a task force to address the crisis in the Ontario school-based HPV immunization program. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted school-based vaccination in Ontario, leaving thousands of children at risk for HPV-related cancers.

All Grade 7 students in Ontario can currently receive the HPV9 vaccine supplied by Public Health Units at school through the school-based immunization program. This vaccine protects against nine types of HPV strains and decreases the risk of 6 types of cancer. About 60 per cent of 12-year-olds were immunized in 2018-19.¹ Alarmingly, this rate dropped to 5.2 per cent in 2019-20, and to only 0.8 per cent in 2020-21.¹

"To increase vaccination rates, it is essential healthcare providers, the province, school boards and public health units all recognize their roles in facilitating vaccinations to ensure young people in Ontario are fully immunized from HPV, and thus protected from HPV related cancers and infections," said Dr. Vivien Brown, chair of the HPV Immunization Task Force, vice-president, North America for the Medical Women's International Association, chair & co-founder of HPV Prevention Week in Canada, and a past president of FMWC. "We must act quickly and work together as cancer won't wait for the next election or school year."

The task force, comprised of family physicians, cancer specialists, pharmacists, public health representatives and a school board representative, is proposing actionable short-term and long-term solutions to Ontario's HPV vaccination crisis focusing on four key areas: 

• Access to vaccines
• Education about vaccines
• Communicating the benefits of vaccination
• Improving cross-ministerial collaborations to develop more effective immunization

The task force's series of recommendations focus on expanded access to immunization against vaccine-preventable cancers using a multi-faceted approach to remove the barriers to access for unvaccinated populations, such as catch-up campaigns in high schools or mobile clinics. Additionally, the recommendations call for increased education about cancer prevention through vaccination and highlight the safety and efficacy of the HPV vaccine.

HPV exposure is likely inevitable as three-quarters of all Canadians will become infected with HPV during their lifetimes.² While most infected people clear the virus, those who do not can develop HPV-related cancers and precancers. Most people who have HPV may not show any signs or symptoms, which means they can infect others without knowing it.³

If Canada's vaccination, screening and testing targets are not reached, including increasing HPV vaccine uptake to 90 per cent by 2025, 6,810 women will develop preventable cancers, and 1,750 women will die of preventable disease by 2050.⁴ Alternatively, achieving an HPV vaccination rate of over 90% by 2025, together with effective screening and treatment, could eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.^4,5

"With swift action taken by all parties in our province's healthcare network and more work being done to educate patients and parents of the risks of delaying HPV immunization, young people in Ontario will receive the protection they deserve against vaccine-preventable cancers and HPV infections."

About FMWC

The Federation of Medical Women of Canada (FMWC) is a national organization committed to the professional, social and personal advancement of women physicians and to the promotion of the well-being of women both in the medical profession and in society at large. Established in 1924, the FMWC is also an independent nation member of the Medical Women's International Association. For more information, please visit: www.fmwc.ca.

References

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^1	Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). Immunization coverage report for school-based programs in Ontario: 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years. Toronto, ON, 2021.
^2	Dubé E, Gagnon D, Clément P, et al. Challenges and opportunities of school-based HPV vaccination in Canada. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2019;15(7-8):1650-1655
^3	City of Toronto. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Fact Sheet. https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/diseases-medications-vaccines/human-papillomavirus-hpv-fact-sheet/
^4	Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Action plan for the elimination of cervical cancer in Canada, 2020-2030. https://www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca/topics/elimination-cervical-cancer-action-plan.
^5	Canfell K, Kim JJ, Brisson M, et al. Mortality impact of achieving WHO cervical cancer elimination targets: a comparative modelling analysis in 78 low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Lancet 2020;395(10224):591-603.

SOURCE Federation of Medical Women of Canada

For more information, or to request an interview with a member of the FMWC HPV Task Force, please contact: Helena Wade, Veritas Communications, [email protected], 613-483-7853.