A SHOPPING centre in Hull will today become one of the first in the country to offer vaccines for a common cancer.
Princes Quay is holding a cervical cancer inoculation day to help raise awareness of the disease in younger women.
Jabs are being offered to women aged 17 and 18 by staff from Hull Primary Care Trust at the old TK Maxx store on the centre's harbou
r deck, between 11.30am and 4pm.
Carolyn Rabaud, from Hull PCT, said: 'It's so important that women of this age understand the risks of cervical cancer and protect themselves against it.
"The jab literally takes a few minutes. It's not a painful procedure and it's extremely effective."
Around 800 girls have already had the jab in just a week, at colleges and health centres in the city, but another 900 are eligible.
Ms Rabaud said it was the first time a vaccination session had been held in a shopping centre in Hull, adding: "What we know from evidence is that young people access services better if they are in groups so we thought we'd approach Princes Quay.
"We are just hoping to increase uptake by making it more available."
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, with most cervical cancers caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV).
The NHS administers the vaccine Cervarix, which protects against two strains of HPV that cause cervical cancer in over 70 per cent of patients.
A recent study found that young women were being put at risk of cervical cancer because they are not offered a smear test until they are 25.
n Injured athletes in the East Riding are to be given free physiotherapy sessions to help them get back into training and competition as quickly as possible. The Talented Athlete Leisure Centre Scheme, which is being run by East Riding Council and NHS East Riding, offers athletes free access to leisure centres and specialist physios.
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