Wigan boys to get HPV jab to prevent thousands of cancer cases

Until now, only girls have been given the vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer as well as penile cancer, anal and genital cancers and some cancers of the head and neck.

Other news: Police investigate after body found outside Wigan gymBut from the start of the next school year, boys in Year eight across the UK who are aged 12 and 13 will be given the jab with parental consent.

Estimates from the University of Warwick suggest the vaccine, which protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV), will prevent 64,138 cervical cancers and 49,649 non-cervical cancers in the UK by 2058.

This will include 3,433 cases of penile cancer and 21,395 cases of head and neck cancer, such as throat cancer, in men.

Giving boys the jab also protects girls from HPV, which is passed on through sexual contact.

HPV causes 99 per cent of cervical cancers as well as 90 per cent of anal, about 70 per cent of vaginal and vulvar cancers and more than 60 per cent of penile cancers.

Boys will need two doses of the jab for full protection.

The first dose will be given in school in Year 8, with a follow-up dose six months to two years later, also given in school.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England (PHE), said: “Offering the vaccine to boys will not only protect them but will also prevent more cases of HPV-related cancers in girls and reduce the overall burden of these cancers in both men and women in the future.

“I encourage all parents of eligible boys and girls to make sure they take up the offer for this potentially life-saving vaccine.

“It’s important not to delay vaccination, as the vaccine may be less effective as adolescents get older.”

Public health minister Seema Kennedy said: “The success of the HPV vaccine programme for girls is clear and by extending it to boys we will go a step further to help us prevent more cases of HPV-related cancer every year.

“Through our world-leading vaccination programme, we have already saved millions of lives and prevented countless cases of terrible diseases.

“Experts predict that we could be on our way toward eliminating cervical cancer for good.”

Girls in year eight have been offered the HPV vaccine free in school since 2008.

Figures out in December showed 83.8 per cent of girls completed the two-dose HPV vaccination course in 2017/18, compared with 83.1 per cent in 2016/17 and 85.1 per cent in 2015/16. PHE said the programme meant infections of some strains of HPV in youngsters aged 16 to 21 have fallen by 86 per cent in England.

The HPV jab currently used by the NHS is Gardasil, which protects against HPV for at least 10 years and possibly a lifetime. PHE said there will be no catch-up programme for older boys aged 13 to 18.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The potential of this vaccine to save lives and prevent the complications of cancer is huge, and since it has been available on the NHS for girls, it has had excellent take-up, with impressive results - it’s important this success is replicated with boys.

"We’d encourage all parents of eligible children to get their child vaccinated, and if they miss the round for any reason, that they let their school nurse know so that they can be invited to a ‘catch-up’ clinic."

More than 3,000 women in the UK are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in the UK and the disease kills over 850 women annually.