Health Information

First aid is provided by Ms. Leung. If you have an injury, come to the office. Our first aid attendants will deal with injuries but are not medical personnel and cannot provide advice about illness or old injuries. Jeremy Martin, our school nurse, will be at Hamber every Thursday at lunch in the First Aid Room. Please see him with any questions or concerns you may have. For information about Health Services, see pages 19-22 of your Student Agenda.

HPV Vaccine Available

Since September 2008, all girls in grade 6 and 9 have been offered human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. This letter is to let you know that if you have not yet received the vaccine, you can still get it for free.

There are a number of ways that you can receive the HPV vaccine. The vaccine is available at a school immunization clinic, at a youth clinic, or by contacting the school nurse. Some physicians' offices may now also carry this vaccine. if you want your doctor to provide this vaccine, call first to make sure there is free vaccine available.

What you should know:

• HPV infection is common. 3 out of 4 women will be infected with HPV in their lifetime.
• HPV vaccine works very well. It protects women from cancer of the cervix and some other types of genital cancers caused by HPV. The vaccine also prevents genital warts.
• HPV vaccine is very safe. HPV vaccine is used in 122 countries.68 million doses have been distributed worldwide including 250,000 doses in British Columbia. The most common reported reactions continue to be pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, and headache. These reactions are the same kind that youth may have after other vaccines. HPV vaccine does not result in any serious health problems.
• Girls should get HPV vaccine at a younger age because the vaccine only prevents HPV infection. The vaccine cannot get rid of the virus in girls who are already infected.

HPV vaccine is a medical breakthrough. Getting vaccinated now gives women the best possible protection against cervical cancer.

We highly recommend that you get vaccinated against HPV. if you would like to receive the vaccine, please contact your school's Public Health Nurse.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact your school's nurse or Vancouver's Communicable Disease Control division at 604-675-3900. You can also visit "www.immunizeBC.ca for detailed HPV information.