HPV vaccine uptake is stabilising, but is still below pre-pandemic levels of 90%, according to data published by UKHSA.
The data covers vaccine uptake rates for the 2023/24 academic year, which includes the move from two doses down to one in September 2023.
Among year 8 girls, uptake was 72.9%, up 1.6% from the previous years. For year 8 boys, uptake was 2.5% higher, at 67.7%.
In year 9, uptake among girls was 74.1%, and boys 68.5%, 1.6% and 1.2% lower than the previous year, respectively.
For year 10 pupils, uptake among girls was 76.7%, 6.5% lower than the previous year. For boys, it was 71.2%, 7.4% lower than the previous year.
‘It’s great to see HPV uptake rates increasing for when children are first offered the vaccine in year 8,’ said consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, Dr Sharif Ismail. ‘but we need to ensure that more young people who do not take up the original offer for any reason are caught up.’
In England, the NHS HPV vaccination programme has dramatically lowered HPV infections and rates of cervical cancer in vaccine-eligible women. The vaccine has been offered to year 8 girls since September 2008, and year 8 boys since September 2019.
Steve Russell, chief delivery officer and national director for vaccinations and screening at NHS England said it is ‘essential’ that young people are protected:
‘The HPV vaccine provides protection against a range of cancers in just a single dose, and supporting more young people to get vaccinated is vital to our ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
‘It’s encouraging that [the] figures show a rise in vaccination coverage across year 8 children, but almost a third are still yet to receive this vital protection.’
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