Doctors urge women who missed cervical screening appointments to book them ASAP

Some deferred theirs due to Covid.

Dr Lucy Jessop, the director of public health at the National Immunisation Office, is urging women who may have deferred their cervical check exam due to Covid to book their appointments. Speaking about the report that showed the HPV vaccine has reduced cases of cervical cancer by almost 90%, she reminded those who are yet to be checked to do it as soon as they can. Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Jessop said that the results of the UK's study were "very good news", showing that there was a reduction in cases for those who were vaccinated when they were 12 and 13, which was the same in Ireland. "It really underlines how important it is for parents to come forward and vaccinate their children when they are in first year of secondary school," she said. She also pointed out that the vaccine used in the UK is different but noted the one used here would more than likely give better results. "In England they used a vaccine called Cervarix which only protects against two types of the HPV causing cancers. In Ireland, we started our programme in 2010, but we've been using HPV4 which protects against two types of HPV that cause cancer and two types that cause genital warts and now we're using HPV9 which actually protects against seven of the most common strains that cause HPV related cancers," she said. "We're using a vaccine that is even more effective than the vaccine used in the UK. "The uptake (in Ireland) is very good. We started in 2010 when the uptake was very good in girls, then in 2019 we offered the vaccine to both boys and girls, because it doesn't just cause cervical cancer, it causes other cancers - for example mouth and throat. that also affect boys, and also genital warts. It's very important now that we offer it to boys and girls in first year (of secondary school)."