By Michael NewhousE
A QUICK jab in the arm was all it took, as about 550 female students at Marian College in Sunshine West took the first step in the fight against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
HPV is a relatively common infection that can increase the chance of cancer in women.
Over the next four weeks about 5000 girls from secondary schools around Brimbank will be given their first of three doses of the HPV vaccination, with the second dose due in June and the third in September.
Girls in years 7, 10, 11 and 12 will be immunised this year under the free vaccination program, while years 8 and 9 will be vaccinated next year.
The vaccinations are delivered by registered nurses from the council’s immunisation team.
