Hse launches vital catch-up campaign for secondary students
Health officials have commenced a vital immunisation drive across schools in Cork and Kerry to protect students from preventable illnesses. The initiative ensures teenagers who missed their initial jab receive essential immunisation to safeguard their long-term health.
Source:
HSE — Health Service Executive
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⏱️ 1 min read
Health service teams across the south-west have launched the latest phase of the Laura Brennan catch-up immunisation programme, visiting post-primary schools in Cork and Kerry. Specialist registrar Dr Sinead O'Riordan emphasised that the initiative forms a crucial part of the national ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, urging eligible teenagers and their families to embrace the opportunity for life-saving protection.
The free vaccine is available to male and female students in second, third, fourth, and fifth year who have not previously received any doses, along with home-educated youths and those in special schools born between September 2007 and August 2012. Assistant director of public health nursing Breda Forbes highlighted that the Gardasil 9 jab also prevents genital warts and protects males against aggressive throat, anal, and penile cancers which lack routine screening options.
Parents and guardians of students aged 15 and under must provide consent, while those aged 16 and older can authorise their own immunisation. Further details and guidance are available on the official HSE website, continuing the powerful advocacy legacy of the late Laura Brennan.
The free vaccine is available to male and female students in second, third, fourth, and fifth year who have not previously received any doses, along with home-educated youths and those in special schools born between September 2007 and August 2012. Assistant director of public health nursing Breda Forbes highlighted that the Gardasil 9 jab also prevents genital warts and protects males against aggressive throat, anal, and penile cancers which lack routine screening options.
Parents and guardians of students aged 15 and under must provide consent, while those aged 16 and older can authorise their own immunisation. Further details and guidance are available on the official HSE website, continuing the powerful advocacy legacy of the late Laura Brennan.