Ambassadors spread the HPV vaccination message

Award winning country music singer Troy Cassar Daley and Yamba’s Playtime host Jacinta Price are lending their support to the Australian Government’s National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Programme.

Both parents of teenage children, Queensland-based Troy and Alice Springs-based Jacinta, are promoting the free HPV vaccinations which are being rolled out in schools across Australia.

HPV is a common virus that affects men and women. It can cause the development of HPV-related cancers and disease in both males and females. The HPV vaccine can help protect young people from developing these cancers and disease later in life.

“My grandmother had a saying that if you didn’t have your health, you don’t have much at all,” Troy said.

“If we can prevent cancers and disease, we should take the medicine. We should use medicine as an advantage. We have a chance to make sure our kids are covered.”

Young people aged between 12 and 13 years are eligible to take part in the national, free school-based vaccination program. There is also a catch up program for young males aged 14-15 years until the end of 2014. Three doses of the HPV vaccine are required for full protection against HPV-related cancers and disease.

For Jacinta Price, her sons, aged 13 and 15 years, were always going to be participating in the vaccination program.

“We sat down and discussed it as a family and I filled in the consent forms,” she said.

“It’s important for young Indigenous people to get the full three doses of the vaccine for the best protection against HPV-related cancers and disease.”

If young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women have missed the first dose of the HPV vaccination, they can still catch up and parents are advised to talk to the school, their GP or health clinic.