The BC Centre for Disease Control has announced the expansion of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program. The HPV vaccine Cervarix will now be offered at no cost to BC women 26 years of age and under, and born before 1994. The province’s catch-up HPV vaccination program originally covered only young women aged 19 to 21, born between 1991 and 1993.

The catch-up program seeks to pro-vide coverage for women who fall with-in the recommended age group for the vaccine, but who were too old to receive the school-based vaccine when HPV vaccinations first began in 2008. 

The vaccination program is supported by new online tools and a text message reminder service encouraging young women to get immunized. To learn more visit www.dontgetcancer.ca [9].