‘Protect your child’ against cervical cancer, NHS chiefs tell parents – as rates of HPV jab fall

NHS chiefs want more teens to get the HPV jab to wipe out cervical cancer, as figures show one in five 15-year-olds are unvaccinated.

It is the second vaccine plea in a week following a drive to boost uptake of the measles shot.

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Coverage of the HPV vaccine dropped last year, with 16.8 per cent of girls and 21.4 per cent of boys not immunised by the end of school Year 10.

In 2022 the proportion unprotected was 13.5 per cent for girls and 18.5 per cent for boys.

The jab protects against high-risk strains of human papillomavirus, which spreads during sex and causes 99 per cent of cervical cancers.

There are more than 3,000 cervical cancer cases per year but NHS England has pledged to wipe out the tumours for good by 2040 – by blocking the virus.

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Jade Goody, Big Brother contestant and mum of Strictly Come Dancing star Bobby Brazier, died of the disease at the age of 27 in 2009.

The HPV vaccine can also prevent cancers of the throat, neck, head, penis, vagina and anus, which may all be caused by HPV.

There are dozens of HPV types and they are very common, with more than eight in 10 people contracting at least one in their lifetime.

Most are harmless but some contribute to cancer, while others can cause warts.

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Steve Russell, NHS vaccines director, said: “There are over 50,000 girls and over 70,000 boys in Year 10 who were unvaccinated against HPV.

“We’re urging parents to consent to their children getting their HPV vaccines from nurses when they visit schools.

“With just one dose now offering full protection to under 25s, it is easier than ever to ensure your child is fully protected.”

Children will usually be offered the vaccine at secondary school when they are 12 or 13 years old.

Any who have missed it can get it from their GP surgery if they are younger than 25 if female, or born since September 2006 if male.