The message of a new vaccine campaign in Richmond County is to protect your adolescent daughter from cervical cancer - “Vaccinate today. Protect her tomorrow.”

The Richmond County Health Department is participating in the HPV Vaccine Project with the local health departments of Robeson, Harnett and Cumberland counties.

“We are very concerned about the high incidence of cervical cancer in Richmond County, so we are working to increase the number of adolescent girls who receive this proven vaccine,” said Richmond County Health Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell. “Based on scientific studies, we believe this vaccine will help reduce these rates of cervical cancer in our county.”

Through the project, issues pertaining to the human pappilomavirus (HPV) through posters and brochures in English and Spanish displayed in offices, retail businesses and community agencies throughout the four counties.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.2 million men and women are infected with HPV each year. It is the most common sexually-transmitted infection in the United States.

Most new infections occur in between the ages of 15 and 24. To protect against infection, the CDC recommends vaccination of girls when they are 11 or 12 years old, before they are exposed the virus.

The CDC says most HPV infections don’t cause any symptoms, and go away on their own, but is important mainly because it can cause cervical cancer.

The organization estimates more than half of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at sometime in their lives. There is no treatment for HPV infection, but the conditions it causes can be treated.

A release from the health department reads, “The HPV vaccine is safe and it works,” citing national studies.

The vaccine itself is manufactured under the brand name Gardasil, and is given in a series of three shots over a six month period. It has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in females aged nine to 26.

“I recommend the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, for my adolescent female patients to protect them against the most common diseases caused by the human pappillomavirus,” said Charlotte McNeill, a family nurse practitioner at Masoud Ahdieh Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. “I believe Gardasil to be safe and effective. I feel vaccine prevention and routine cervical cancer screenings are together the best way to protect female adolescents from this disease.”

You may also access more detailed information on the campaign website www.HPVvaccineproject.org, or can call the North Carolina Health Resource Line toll-free at (800) 367-2229.

It is important to note that with any vaccine, there are incidences of allergic reaction and other negative side effects.

The CDC chronicles the way adverse events, or negative side-effects, are monitored from the Gardasil vaccine on its website.

The most common side effects reported are redness and swelling around the site of the injection, but there have also been reports of itching at the site, mild and moderate fever and rare allergic reactions.

The CDC notes if an individual has ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to yeast, or had a previous dose of HPV vaccine, should not get the vaccine.

Also, when consulting a physician, tell them if the person receiving the vaccine has any severe allergies.