Goal and Recommendation for new policy: Access for all girls

Currently in Canada, girls in grades 7 or 8 are able to recieve the HPV vaccine for free in their school, as long as their school board has chosen to accept the Gardasil vaccine. What happens to those girls who do not have access to the vaccine for free in their school like their peers? Many Catholic school boards for instance, have rejected the policy, and said the vaccine has no place in their schools. Many parents and childen who attend Catholic schools may be ok with this, as it may fit with their morals and values, however this isn't the case for everyone. There are girls who attend these schools who do want the option to get vaccinated for free, so there need to be places for these girls to go. We propose having the vaccine available in clinics or at doctors offices for free, or at least at a reduced cost. If a girl is of the target age, that is the age in which the province has decided to give out the vaccine for free in schools, and cannot get the vaccine at school, she should have the same rights as her peers.

This raises the issue of whether or not the school is the best place for vaccines. We believe that the school is a good place for those who may not have a family doctor, or have access to a clinic or hospital, as the school is a place that is available to everyone. However, we also feel that a girl should have the option to go to her doctors office to receive the vaccine for free, if she chooses not to get vaccinated at school. The doctor, or a nurse, would be able to give the girl more education, and more time to discuss her options. Funding for all of this would have to come out of the funds that each province recieved for the Gardasil program, and it would have to be redistributed, ensuring each girl of the target age would have access to free or reduced cost vaccination.