Calgary school district risks lawsuits over HPV vaccine ban

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Oh, and about the flu vaccine, see alsohttp://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/01/larry_moore_fights_in_vaccine.phpLarry Moore fights in Vaccine CourtFri Jan 09, 2009 at 03:49:20 PM KMBC anchor Larry Moore and his wife, Ruth, are fighting to recoup some medical expenses in the federal government's "Vaccine Court," Moore wrote today on his KMBC web page. I didn't realize that Ruth Moore was paralyzed after receiving a flu shot three years ago. ==========http://snipurl.com/9ri51 [CALGARY HERALD] Calgary school district risks lawsuits over HPV vaccine ban: Experts BY MICHELLE LANG, CALGARY HERALD JANUARY 9, 2009    The provincial government announced last spring that it wanted to inoculate all Grade 5 girls against four strains of HPV that are estimated to cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers.Photograph by: Aaron Deemer, Bloomberg NewsCALGARY — Several experts, including a lawyer and cancer specialist, said Friday the Calgary Catholic School District could face future civil action over its decision to ban a provincial program aimed at preventing cervical cancer.Juliet Guichon, a bioethicist and lawyer at the University of Calgary, said Catholic students who do not receive a human papilloma virus vaccine and later develop cervical cancer may one day sue the district for banning the free shots on school property."The disease is so serious," said Guichon. "The greater the harm, the more likely (people) are to seek compensation."But Calgary Catholic Bishop Fred Henry said Friday he doubts such a challenge would ever be successful, arguing the board has left the decision on whether to vaccinate up to parents."It will never hold up in court," said Henry. "I'm not the least bit worried about potential lawsuits."The debate comes after the Calgary Herald reported this week that less than 20 per cent of the Calgary Catholic students eligible for the province's HPV campaign received a free shot at a public clinic.In the city's public school system, where the provincial campaign administered shots at schools, nearly 70 per cent of Grade 5 girls were inoculated against HPV.Experts and doctors say school-based vaccination campaigns are far more successful than free clinics, arguing parents are often too busy to take their daughters to receive a vaccine outside the classroom.The provincial government announced last spring that it wanted to inoculate all Grade 5 girls against four strains of HPV that are estimated to cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers.While the program proceeded this fall in public schools, the Calgary Catholic School District and at least nine other boards in Alberta voted against allowing the program in the separate system.The Catholic schools said a vaccine to protect against a sexually transmitted disease sends the wrong message about premarital sex.Health officials in Calgary and in other parts of Alberta set up free clinics for Catholic parents who wanted their daughters to receive the vaccine. Catholic schools sent details of the clinics home with students.Dr. Eduardo Franco, a professor of Epidemiology and Oncology at McGill University, said the poor turnout for the public clinics is a "pity."Franco, who has testified as an expert witness in several cervical cancer lawsuits, said some Calgary girls who missed out on the vaccine could develop the disease."Eventually they will be at risk because they will become sexually active," he said. "Then they will see how serious cervical cancer is."He agreed with Guichon that the board could face litigation for banning the program in schools, adding that lower-income parents may not have had the time or resources to bring their daughters to a clinic outside the school setting.Representatives with the Calgary Catholic School District said they have sought legal advice on the matter and said they feel comfortable with their decision.Board chairwoman Marg Belacourt noted that Catholic schools provided information to parents of Grade 5 girls to make sure they knew about the public clinics where the vaccine was available."It's the parents who ultimately make that choice," she said.At least one legal expert, meanwhile, said any claim could be a difficult one to win.Timothy Caulfield, Canada research chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, said there has been buzz in legal circles about the possibility of legal action against the boards.But he said there are many factors to consider, including the fact that the vaccine was made available outside of schools."It would be a very complicated legal action," said Caulfield. =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.