The Halton Catholic school board narrowly defeated a motion Tuesday night that would have made it the first in Ontario to ban public health officials from giving Grade 8 girls the HPV vaccine.

The vaccine protects against infection from four separate strains of human papilloma virus that combined cause 70 per cent of all cases of cervical cancer.

The program is intended for as many as 85,000 girls provincewide this year.

It's estimated that, every year in Ontario, about 500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 100 die of it.

Although the Halton board approved the vaccination, it still wants parents to sign a waiver before their daughters get the shots.

Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty supports the vaccination program and said it's too early to consider other options.

"Well, I think we have to wait and see how many boards are actually going to say no before we pin it on one particular board. But as I say, my advice to the board is, ah, the single most important issue here is the health of our young women."

The Huron-Superior Catholic board in northern Ontario has already postponed the program until they can get more information from the Ministry of Health.

The Toronto Catholic school board will vote Wednesday night on the vaccination program.

"Simply put this vaccine is about cancer prevention for young women," Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Toronto's director communicable disease control, said in a recent interview. "Last year there were 500 cases of cervical cancer and 140 deaths in Ontario. This vaccine can prevent serious illness."

Dr. Vanita Dubay, an associate medical officer of health with Toronto Public Health, said the process of notifying parents is underway.

"We've sent home, and we're sending home, consent forms through all of the schools. Some schools will receive them sooner than others. They're going home with the kids to their parents," said Dubay.
 
"They can sign if it they agree to have the vaccine, if they don't want to have the vaccine, and even if they've already been vaccinated, so we can update their immunization record."

Students who decide not to have the vaccination will not be suspended if they choose not to take part.