"At-risk" B.C. boys and men start getting access to a new free vaccine that targets the human papillomavirus (HPV) next month.

The government-funded program starts Sept.1 for males nine to 26 years old who either identify as gay, are under provincial care or have HIV.

"This is a key population who has not been protected through our girls-only program. So it's very important for these young men and their parents to know that this protection is now available for their sons," said Dr. Meena Dawar, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health.

"The human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection," Heath Minister Terry Lake said in a release in July. "It can lead to serious health problems and could develop into an HPV-related cancer."

The government defines "vulnerable" at-risk boys and young men as "those who have sex with males or who are street-involved."

In B.C. the government is targeting only at-risk boys because, "providing the vaccine for all girls [more than 50 per cent of them are vaccinated] protects heterosexual boys ... but leaves at-risk boys and young men unprotected."

B.C. was the fourth province to announce it will provide the vaccine to boys.

'Cost-effective' protection

The government will supply the Gardasil vaccine for the program, saying it protects against HPV infections that cause about 70 per cent of cervical cancers, 80 per cent of anal cancers and other cancers of the mouth, throat, penis, vagina and vulva.

The vaccines will be administered at specialized clinics and programs for street-involved youth as well as public health units, the government said.