If the provincial government acts on a new white paper, pharmacists and dentists may be able to administer the vaccine against human papillomavirus, which causes several preventable cancers, most notably invasive cervical cancer.
The task force, convened two years ago by the Federation of Medical Women in Canada, is looking for ways to address what it calls a "crisis" in the Ontario school-based HPV vaccination program. Only one in five Canadians are vaccinated against the virus.
The paper advises 12 actionable recommendations the province can take in the coming months and years. Other recommendations include creating a vaccination registry in Ontario, giving the shot to both boys and girls and boosting access to publicly funded vaccines.
Canada's goal is to administer the HPV vaccine to 90 per cent of all girls and boys before they turn 17 by 2025. Meeting that benchmark could eliminate cervical cancer in Canada by 2040.
The country is not even close to meeting that goal, and the task force warns the consequences of not boosting immunization rates could result in 6,810 women developing cervical cancer and 1,750 dying prematurely by 2050.
A global study followed 14,215 girls who received the HPV vaccine. After six years, the immunization was still 97.4 per cent effective. After 14 years for girls and 9.5 years for boys, antibodies persisted.
In the short term, the white paper recommended that Ontario boost public education and expand eligibility for publicly funded vaccinations.
In the longer term, the next one to five years, it recommends establishing a provincial vaccination registry that is accessible to patients, parents, and healthcare providers.
The Ontario Medical Association and the Ontario Immunization Advisory Committee have long advocated for a vaccine registry.
Scotland recently revealed it had eliminated invasive cervical cancer in women who were immunized at the age of 12 or 13. It started vaccinating students in 2008.