HPV vaccine programme for girls aged 13-17 fast-tracked

More than seven out of ten 12-13 year old girls have already had their first vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), according to government figures.

Early figures published today show 148 of 152 trusts have already started vaccinating young girls, 24 trusts have reported uptake of 90% or more and 124 trusts have already given the second HPV vaccine dose.

The vaccine protects against two strains of HPV that cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer.

Routine HPV vaccination was introduced for girls aged 12-13 (year 8) in September.

Originally girls aged 16-18 were also to be offered the vaccine in the 2009/10 school year and girls aged 15-17 would be offered the vaccine in 2010/11.

Health minister Dawn Primarolo said: ‘This vaccination programme is about saving lives. It's great news that more than 70 per cent of 12-13 year old girls have already had their first vaccine doses. I want to thank the local health teams, schools, girls and parents for making this programme such a success.

‘Next year we'll be investing more money so that Trusts can bring forward their catch-up programmes to cover 13-17 year old girls. This means that girls can be offered protection against cervical cancer earlier.’

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