At least 40 girls who didn't get the HPV vaccine last year will die, according to the Irish Cancer Society
Only half of the eligable 12 and 13 year olds had the jab last year, a major drop on 2015 figures.
The HSE says it will step up its campaign to promote the vaccine, claiming a misinformation campaign has affected the uptake.
Since 2010, all girls in the first year of secondary school have been offered the HPV vaccine, in 2015, 87 percent received the jab, but this dropped to 50 percent last year with just 15 thousand girls out of 30 thousand being vaccinated.
As a result 40 of these girls will die of avoidable cervical cancer. Another 100 will need life-changing treatment and a further 1,000 will require invasive therapy.
It's claimed a misinformation campaign is behind the decline in numbers, with groups saying that the vaccine can cause long term side effects including joint pain and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, no scientific evidence has found a connection between the two.
The HSE has warned that it will take years to repair the damage caused by anti vaccine groups, and is preparing to ramp up its campaign to tackle the drop off in numbers ahead of the academic year starting next month.
The HSE is reminding parents that they can still get their daughters vaccinated at their local health centre, free of charge
Kim Buckley has this report:
