The father of the late Laura Brennan says he’s fearful the uptake of the HPV vaccine may drop in the next number of months.
It comes as the waiving of fees for those availing of the jab in the ‘catch up’ programme could be waived in the Budget.
Today would have marked the 29th birthday of the late Laura Brennan.
On the same day, it’s been revealed the scrapping of fees for those getting the vaccine is being considered by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and department officials in its Budget 2022 plans.
Those who don’t receive the jab through the schools programme and who decide to avail of it later on can face charge of around 600 euro.
Campaigners in Clare, including the Brennan family, have long campaigned for the charges to be waived for those who opt to receive the three jabs after they’ve previously been offered it.
Senator Martin Conway, who received the commitment in the Seanad from Minister of State Anne Rabbitte, says financial barriers should not prevent people accessing the jab.
Uptake of the jab had fallen to just over 50 percent as of earlier this year on account of rollout difficulties caused by the pandemic, though is now understood to be at the 75 percent mark once more.
The use of vaccination centres that have been administering COVID-19 jabs to supply HPV inoculations is also being discussed.
Larry Brennan, father of the late Laura, is fearful though that the uptake of the vaccine may slow if the focus is moved away from administering it in schools.
