Source:
Globe and MailOTTAWA -- Human papillomavirus, the leading cause of cervical cancer, will be targeted with $300-million in vaccination funding announced yesterday by the federal Conservative government.
It's a decision that is being hailed by health professionals -- and will hold much appeal for parents of teenage girls -- but could alienate some elements of the socially right-wing base of the Conservative Party.
... The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended that every nine- to 13-year-old girl in Canada should be vaccinated against the disease and that older girls and women should also be vaccinated, even if they are already sexually active, because they may not yet have been infected.
... "We have been recommending to the federal government that they fund the vaccine," said Gail Beck, the president of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada, who said the money, which will be paid in 2007-08, is enough to cover the cost of the vaccine across the country.
...
Read more:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070320.BUDGETHEALTH20/TPStory/National
In earlier discussions here I mentioned that a committee at Health Canada was working on a protocol for delivery of the vaccine. The federal government has now decided -- in the Conservative Party's annual budget, brought down yesterday but not yet passed -- to provide funding for immunization of the age group in question.
The $300 million is over 3 years. $100 million a year will cover roughly 240,000 complete series of shots (at $420 per series of 3).
A news release from an interested organization (i.e. not copyright):
http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/March2007/19/c4179.html
Women's medical group applauds leadership shown by feds - New funding for HPV vaccine could help stop needless loss of women's lives
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/
OTTAWA, March 19 /CNW Telbec/ - The Federation of Medical Women of Canada commends the federal government for making $300 million over the next three years available to the provinces and territories to support the launch of a national program for GARDASIL(TM), the approved vaccine for HPV-related diseases such as cervical cancer and genital warts. The Federation is now challenging provincial governments to follow through and rapidly make the HPV vaccination universally available.
"With this new budget, the federal government is showing true leadership with respect to women's health," said Dr. Gail Beck, President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. "Last fall, we urged the federal government to fund new vaccines, including GARDASIL(TM), which we believe is the biggest medical breakthrough in women's health in many years. On International Women's Day we reiterated our message of having the cost of this vaccine covered and today the federal government has come through. We are now looking to the provincial governments to help bring an end to cervical cancer in Canada."
Last fall, the Federation of Medical Women of Canada presented a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance requesting funds for a universal HPV vaccination program.
In July 2006, GARDASIL(TM) was approved by Health Canada and in January 2007 the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended that all Canadian girls and women aged nine to 26 be routinely vaccinated with GARDASIL(TM) to help protect them against cervical cancer, among other HPV-related diseases.
"GARDASIL(TM) has been approved, endorsed and now funded. It's time for the provincial governments to step up to the plate and make universal access to the HPV vaccine a reality," said Dr. Beck. "Each provincial government must act rapidly to put a stop to the needless loss of life. One woman dies of cervical cancer every day in this country and 1,400 more are diagnosed with this deadly disease every year."
About the 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. ...
For anyone interested -- the pharmaceutical company in question has been running TV ads in Canada. How it works here is that a company may advertise a medication without saying what it's for, or may advertise a medication for a disease/disorder without saying what the medication is. (When we happen to watch a US network program not being simulcast on a Canadian network, so we get to see the US commercials, we are never-endingly shocked and appalled at the quantity of drug advertising on US TV.) This is the website that the TV ads direct viewers to:
http://www.tellsomeone.ca/e/home.html-- "Brought to you by one of Canada's leading research-based pharmaceutical companies." ;)
It directs readers to the website published by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada:
http://www.hpvinfo.ca/hpvinfo/home.aspx Some related news of interest:
http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=128b24af-2cbe-4d07-acbe-490c50b31350&k=16173&p=2
Newfoundland and Labrador is on the cutting edge of a new Pap test technology designed to make the screening method much more accurate.
The Atlantic province has one of the lowest rates for Pap tests in Canada and one of the highest rates of cervical cancer and death from the cancer.
The new technology for Pap tests, called liquid-based cytology, is expected to reduce the need for referrals to specialists and more invasive tests for women.
Newfoundland is the first province to go ahead with the technology provincewide, although it is also available in private laboratories in Ontario.
Article on the methodology:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16255628&dopt=Abstract 
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