HPV immunisation programme extension welcomed by Royal Society for Public Health

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has welcomed the recommendation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to extend the immunisation programme against human papillomavirus (HPV) to boys.

Vaccination for girls has been routinely available since 2008, mainly through school-based programmes. Until now, boys were not included in the immunisation schedule as it was believed they would experience protection through ‘herd’ immunity. However, men who have sex with men will not be protected in this way, leaving them at particularly high risk of anal cancer.

Recent policies have extended the HPV vaccine to men who have sex with men who present at sexual health clinics, which is insufficient to ensure high uptake. Additionally, in several areas of the country uptake of the vaccine for girls was insufficiently high to ensure herd immunity.

HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection, which generally passes through the body without leading to disease but can, in some cases, lead to cancer or genital warts. HPV-related cancers include cervical cancer, the most well-known, but also vaginal, vulval, anal and penile cancers and cancers of the head and neck.

“The JCVI’s decision to advocate for a gender-neutral vaccination programme against HPV is a victory for the public’s health. Boys have been left insufficiently protected against HPV for too long and it is good news that the UK is following in the footsteps of the other 20 countries already vaccinating boys against HPV,” explained Shirley Cramer CBE, chief executive of RSPH. “It is estimated that HPV causes up to 5% of all cancers and, with the NHS under pressure, the value of the prevention of ill-health is only increasing. The government and vaccine manufacturers should aim to roll the immunisation programme out to all boys as soon as possible.”