Daily International Pharma Alert

Nova Scotia girls will be among the first in Canada to receive a publicly funded vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV) under a provincial program being launched this fall.

Females in the seventh grade will be given three doses of the HPV vaccine over a six-month period as part of Nova Scotia’s school-based vaccination program, according to Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection.

The HPV vaccine is not mandatory and requires parental consent.

In July 2006, Health Canada approved Gardasil, the first vaccine that may help guard against diseases caused by HPV.