Fall in vaccinations against cancer-causing HPV for Wakefield girls

Jo's Cervical Cancer trust said the decline in uptake must be "reversed quickly" so progress in decreasing instances of cancer caused by HPV is not lost.

Girls in England are offered free HPV jabs at school during years 8 and 9, when they are aged between 12 and 14.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows 79.7% of year 9 girls in Wakefield had both HPV jabs in the 2021-22 academic year.

It means 438 of the 2,154 girls in the cohort were not fully vaccinated.

Last year's jab rate is well below pre-pandemic levels in 2018-2019 when 93% of year 9 girls were fully vaccinated.

Some girls were given the second shot in year 10 due to the impact of school closures the programme — 90.6% of this cohort across Wakefield had both jabs.

The HPV vaccination protects against the human papilloma virus, which is responsible for most cervical cancer cases, as well as some other rarer cancers.

Samantha Dixon, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust chief executive, said cases of cervical cancer have fallen 87% in vaccinated women, so progress cannot be lost.

"More education about the HPV vaccine, and how it can protect against cervical cancer, could help reduce vaccine hesitancy and tackle barriers to uptake”.

She said this is vital in areas with high levels of social deprivation or among children that have been excluded from school.

"The HPV vaccine - combined with cervical screening - gives us the opportunity to prevent many cases of cervical cancer and save many lives."

Across the country, about 67.3% of year 9 girls were fully vaccinated last year – a drop from the level seen three years before, when 83.9% had both shots.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA said, "In recent years we have seen vaccine coverage fall due to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

"Many young people who missed out on their vaccinations have already been caught up, but more needs to be done to ensure all those eligible are vaccinated."

Ms Saliba added that children and young people who missed out on the vaccine should contact their school nurse, school immunisation team or GP to arrange getting the shots.