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A NEW ONLINE registration portal has been launched for the Laura Brennan HPV (human papilloma virus) Vaccination Catch-Up Programme.
HPV can cause cancer and genital warts in both women and men. The vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause 9 out of 10 cervical cancers.
From today, eligible people can register on www.hpv.ie for an appointment for a free vaccine which will be administered through HSE vaccination clinics and schools.
The programme is supported by Bernie and Larry Brennan, parents of the late Laura Brennan who campaigned for higher uptake of the HPV vaccine before her death from cervical cancer in 2019, aged 26.
Free HPV vaccines will be offered to all boys and girls in second-level education who were previously eligible to receive the vaccine and who have not yet received it.
It is also open to young women up to the age of 25 who have left secondary school and did not previously receive the vaccine.
“It is my great honour to be joined by Laura’s family as we announce the opening of the online registration portal for the Laura Brennan HPV Vaccination Catch-Up Programme,” Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said today.
“They have campaigned tirelessly in the memory of their courageous daughter and have shown commendable commitment and energy in continuing to spread her message in the midst of their own immeasurable grief,” Donnelly said.
“This programme embodies Laura’s message of vaccine promotion and will encourage and facilitate further uptake of this life-saving intervention. It is by increasing HPV vaccination and screening among our population that we will finally reach our goal of eliminating cervical cancer in Ireland.”
Bernie and Larry Brennan said: “Laura was determined to do everything in her power to encourage people to get the HPV vaccine to protect their health.
Vaccines save lives and Laura’s hope was that by speaking out, she could prevent others from losing their lives and spare other families the pain of losing a loved one.
“We’re incredibly proud that her campaigning has had such a lasting impact, and it’s comforting to know that many lives will be saved by people availing of the HPV vaccine through the programme named in her memory.”
Eligible people aged 16 or over can book their appointment today online.
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I forgot my mask, the dog ate my mask, we have only the one mask at home, and I wasn’t first up.
@Logan Shepherd: I left my mask at my Dad’s house.
@Logan Shepherd: everyone let’s chip in & get logan a box of masks, he deserves them for been 1 of the funniest & most down to earth lad we know
@Logan Shepherd: schools will have spares. Otherwise go home.
@Logan Shepherd: if a student does not have a mask, one should be provided.
@Logan Shepherd: If i was still in school id be getting sent home every day. That’s just giving kids any chance to leave the school. I hated school and was always on the lookout for an excuse to go home. :D
@Looney Tunes: Dude …
@Olivia Smith: Wasn’t overly fond of it myself, and I’d have loved this, for a guaranteed day off every now and again :-)
@Logan Shepherd: By now and then I take it you mean at least twice a week? :)
@Olivia Smith: :-)
So kids will be sent home for not following guidelines but golfing members can do as they please. Sounds about right.
@Derek Anderson: oh give it a rest
@Derek Anderson: Do as they like? Yeah, there was no backlash against that dinner whatsoever…
@Derek Anderson: A cough equals 14 days off school now. Great to be a young person in school with that power.
@Ashley Rowland: Oh yeah! but the danger of a cough is getting sent for a test… which, by all accounts, is unpleasant and when the result is back negative then it is back to school for them, cough and all…
@Derek Anderson: oireachtas golfing members that is
There are plenty kids out there who will see this more as an opportunity than an obstacle.
@Adrian O’Donnell: Not when they are sat outside the head office and their parents are called in to take them home. Parents having to drive to the school, take time off work etc. that wouldn’t last long for many of those.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: no hassle if the parents don’t work
@Adrian O’Donnell: i once faked pain in my lower right stomach at secondary school I just wanted to get off early before I knew it I was being rushed to A&E in the principles car with suspected appendicitis, as soon as he left when my mam arrived my symptoms improved, I went too far lol
@Alan Watts: Perhaps it wasn’t the School you disliked, just the principle of it.
@Peter Casey: lol good one nah some of my fondness memories are of school days
@Jim Buckley Barrett: secondary school students don’t get taken home by parents, they’re not babies!
@Adrian O’Donnell: Haha yeah when i was 14 and it was raining afew of us would stand under a leaking gutter and get absolutely soaked then say ” A bus splashed us on the walk in here” it actually worked a couple of times , we’d be given 2hours to go home and get changed, it felt worth it at the time, looking back now, it really wasn’t
Amazing how people think it’s a good idea for kids to wear masks.
@Ruairi Colton: Amazing how people don’t.
@Tony Stack: amazing that someone would mention scientific advice and also claim that masks help spread Covid. Delusional isn’t a strong enough of a word.
I wish it was as easy as that in my day..
@wormtubes: I’m not w
@Craic-Hommy: *never mind, it wasn’t going to be funny anyways! I need coffee
Imagine having a head cold with a mask on!
@Munster1: you won’t be at school if you’re sick
@Anne Marie Devlin: You can send your kids to school if they are sneezing and have a runny nose according to the Department.
@TheHeathen: you can send your child to school with a head cold, they’ll still have to wear a mask, sounds awful for the child to have to do that but that’s the PARENTS decision not the school or government. The child needs to wear a mask, if they are sick and sneezing it’s the parents call on whether they go to school. Just like it was pre-Covid.
Are schools supplying the masks ? Is there a certain mask approved by the schools . Maybe I missed all this info but I do think its something that needs to be known. 1 mask per student wouldn’t last a day so are parents expected to have an endless supply of masks for their children.
@James O Lone: exactly, a lot of families can’t afford this expense! Should be provided by the department. The disposable ones are too expensive to have 3/4 per child per day. The cloth ones need to be washed after each use and if used incorrectly actually increase chances of transmission.
@James O Lone: what a nonsense comment. The types of masks are just the same as those needed to go shopping. They are also extremely cheap as you well know. Stop fear mongering.
@James O Lone: all they need is a few reusable masks per kid. Wash it out when they get home and it can be used again in a day or two.
Disposable masks are not the only option.
@James O Lone: Its upto the parents to supply masks.
They are not expensive, and like clothes, students should be wearing them.
You wouldn’t expect the school to provide your kid with clothes.
@James O Lone: didn’t they double the back to school allowance this year? Few reusable masks can be bought with some of the doubles money. Stop trying to be offended by nonsense
@James O Lone: got a letter from my son’s school laying out the situation in details. 2 plain reusable masks. Disposable masks will be available for pupils who forget them. Constantly turning up without masks will lead to questions being asked
@James O Lone: everyone should have a mask by now, or did you miss the mandatory in indoor settings rule? Seriously, they’re incredibly cheap in the scheme of back to school costs.
@James O Lone: our school is but there’ll be a limit to it. After that parents will have to supply them.
@James O Lone: it’s very simple buy reusable masks or make them
@Big Smokey: how was I fear mongering. It was a genuine question. Does your employer supply you with ppe to deal with covid 19 . Why shouldn’t our children be the same once my child enters the school property they are in the care of the school surely they have a responsibility to ensure every child’s safety. The point i was making is if a child doesn’t have or forgets a mask sending them home is wrong the school should then supply them with a mask
@James O Lone: the secondary school my niece is going to has provided 1 reusable mask with the school crest on the front would you believe. Parents have to buy anymore the child needs during the school week with the crest on. Madness
@Craic-Hommy: €3 or less? Shhhhhhush
@Big Smokey: Delusional if you think kids wearing a mask all day is either good for their health or good for hygiene. The moment a kid touches the mask and possibly spreads the virus to their hands then wearing the mask has become a bad idea. 7 hours at school…how many times will they touch their mask?
The lady has the Tact of an elephant in a china shop.
I do feel really sorry for young people in these times. Imagine being a child/ teenager or young adult and having to live like this for endless months. Easy to judge from our adult life perspective.
@Isabel Oliveira: imagine growing up in a country that is ravaged by war and famine or you don’t have the option of going to school as it is banned by some relgious tribal leaders.
A bit of perspective here, is it a bit of a pain having to follow the Covid guidelines? Yes but just a little bit.
Could things be a lot worse? 100% yes.
I think I’ll set up stalls around key locations selling masks. It’ll be like printing money.
Yet again do as I say not as I do…before dail broke for recess tds were not wearing masks in the dail.
@Martin Smith: they are not in the dail chamber, they are seated in a huge hall with about 5 meters between each other. Try again
Media headlines first, risk averse second, children’s education a distant last. Irelands obsession with being told what to do.
But if you’re a TD, Commissioner or Judge, you won’t get sent home, you’ll just get more wine or beer
The idea that healthy people are guilty of killing by simply breathing is one of the biggest cons of human history..
@Eibhlin: Human beings transmit many types of disease, deadly or not, through respiratory droplets. Not just Covid. If you think that’s a “con”, I’d invite you to stand in a room stuffed with breathing pneumonia patients and see how you get on.
@Eibhlin: I would have thought that understanding the modes of disease transmission was of the great advances in human history.
@Eibhlin: I take it you don’t believe in science. You should be careful with your phone because if you drop it the ghosts inside will escape.
I hope they will be diligent in the etiquette of wearing them as we were told they can cause more harm than good if a strict etiquette is not adhered to, not just a few months ago!
Good one Norma Foley, you have just given a chance for a lot of kids to get a day off school.
@Heisen berg1: I think you’re missing the point here. It’s putting the responsibility back to parents, as is right. If I have to collect my kids because they refuse to obey school rules, I will. As I always have.
@Heisen berg1: She appears to be a bit short on the little grey cells !
Another one clearly out of her depth judging by her interviews.
@SB: 100% agree. The look of her is enough.
What is most important is all 81 in Galway are jailed for a month for breaching rules..now that would save alot more lives..
@Eibhlin: one goes to jail for breaking laws not for going against public health advice. Whether the hotel broke any public health regulations is another matter and they could be exposed but I am not sure that any of the “rules” you say people breached were backed up by law.
I must say, I didn’t like Richard Downes style of interview last night. A lot of people were watching the program, hoping to get information from Norma Foley and he kept interrupting her and didn’t let her finish many of her points.
@Tony Stack: gonna be empty schools if that’s the case.
Exactly for whose benefit should masks be worn?
How many masks per day would be used?
1 reusable mask per day? Personally while in work I use anywhere from 7-10 disposable per day.
I dont think wearing the sam mask is going to be very hygienic or healthy.
Give the schools time, the next thing they will come up with is that the masks must be bought from a selected shop and have the school crest on and cost a ridiculous amount of money just like the uniforms!!
@Joanne Mc Guirk: they are actually now selling masks with the school crest on.. Fact.!!
@Joanne Mc Guirk: Hahaha.. wouldnt be surprised.
What a load of S###e
Well well. This Covid 19 is some trailblazer of a virus when it comes to re-writing the rule book on viruses isnt it?? Theyve thrown everything out the window with this one.
we cant assume its seasonal even though it sure as hell looks like it…
we cant assume healthy kids dont transfer it even though the evidence with previous viruses is really strong again.
we cant assume symptomatic people are the ones to isolate even though thats been the way for centuries. we have evolved to show symptoms when sick, its our way of surviving as a race. but now thats gone!
we cant assume that masks are only considered of use when worn by the symptomatic – which was the established thinking up until about June 2020.
I mean WOW! either this virus is really re-writing the rulebook or we are seriously over thinking things around here. !!
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40038119.html
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: you need help. Where are you getting such misinformation?
How will Irish and foreign languages be taught with masks on. Absurd.
@Clanrickard: through the magic of SOUND maybe
@Ruairi Colton: probably the same amount of times that they touch their face only in this instance the virus is on the mask and not their face.
Nothing is fool proof but masks will help unless of course every healthcare professional in the world is only wearing them for a laugh
I thought primary school kids were exempt?
@Sam Louise: Read the article!
If I can show I’m a member of Fine Gael does that mean I’m exempt??
Yo woman looks very fancy in her pearls
My Da left my mask at the K club!
@Derek Lyster: They will definitely touch their face more though.
Kids will be sent home if they don’t have a mask Unless they have a golf bag and clubs with them ….then they can stay.
Amateur Minister, trying to make a mark on the backs of children. Supply the masks in schools for those that don’t have them, END OF.
Why the hello do juniors not require a mask in school, it could be the difference of a day between a pupil and year they attend. All bull to make the money of reopening
@paul whelan: actually they are willing to sacrifice the adults teaching them. Schools are being reopened for the children’s benefit. They know cases will spread and just think that is the better option. Not really secret but any teacher that dies as a result may cause legal action. If kids were dying from catching it at a higher rate they wouldn’t open.
@Craic_a_tower: nurses and doctors died and I never heard any of them talking about legal action. I suppose it’s the difference between professional’s who have their patients interests at heart and professional’s who have their own
Face covering – Face mask- Face shield – I’m confused. Let me know people!
If my mask is wet after 1 hour,how many masks my child needs in 6 hours ?? 6 daily ?? I can’t afford it.Sorry.
Let my child try this, and once he is home let him enjoy it without an xbox and a phone for a week.
Somebody should send her home to a home !
If school caught got covid then will not bring kids back to school no choice
If I hear one more defence of teachers whose unions have done everything they could to prevent the opening of schools. Some of their proposed problems were actually the old chestnuts they have been going on about for years. Smaller classes and 10% less for new teachers. If the government can manage to half the class sizes will teachers accept half salaries.
Here is a frightening scenario. If at the start of covid all the nurses had been teachers and the teachers had been nurses then everyone who went into hospital would quite likely have died and the children might never have had to stop attending school. And before someone tells me I don’t understand the problems teachers have I was one for over 30 years.
have your say