MILLIONS of children will be offered a vaccine which protects against eight types of cancer.
From next week, parents in the UK will be asked to consent to their child receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) jab.
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Previously offered only to girls, the HPV shot is now available to all 12- and 13-year-olds, regardless of gender, providing a vital defence against cancer.
Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK is calling on all Year 8 mums and dads to ‘sign away’ their child’s risk of developing the disease in later life by saying yes to the vaccine.
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus, which eight in 10 sexually active people will end up contracting at some stage.
There are hundreds of different types of HPV, most of which are harmless, but some contribute to cancer, while others can cause warts.
The jab protects against high-risk strains of human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical, throat, neck, head, penis, vagina, vulva and anal cancer.
Michelle Vickers, of Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK, said: “Sign the HPV consent form and sign away cancer.”
Around 700,000 people a year worldwide are diagnosed with HPV-related cancers.
Cases have doubled in the last two decades, with HPV now the fastest-growing cause of cancer in the UK.
Anyone who may have missed their chance to be vaccinated in their early teens can participate in a free catch-up programme available to girls under 25 and boys born after September 1, 2006.
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 Year 10.
In 2022, the proportion of unprotected was 13.5 per cent for girls and 18.5 per cent for boys.
HPV cancers are one of the few to have a vaccine.
The jab could prevent over 100,000 cancers by 2058, making it important that the uptake increases.
What jabs does your child need?
EIGHT WEEKS OLD
6-in-1 vaccine – covers diphtheria, hepatitis B, haemophilus, polio, tetanus and whooping cough
Rotavirus vaccine – for highly infectious stomach bugs that cause diarrhoea and vomiting
MenB vaccine – protects against meningococcal group B bacteria that cause meningitis and sepsis
TWELVE WEEKS OLD
6-in-1 vaccine (second dose)
Pneumococcal vaccine – guards against pneumonia and meningitis
Rotavirus vaccine (second dose)
SIXTEEN WEEKS OLD
6-in-1 vaccine (third dose)
MenB vaccine (second dose)
ONE YEAR OLD
Hib/MenC vaccine – haemophilus booster and meningitis C vaccine.
MMR vaccine – guards against measles, mumps and rubella
Pneumococcal vaccine (dose two)
MenB vaccine (third dose)
TWO YEARS TO 11 YEARS
Children’s flu vaccine – given every year until children finish primary school
THREE YEARS AND 4 MONTHS
MMR vaccine (second dose)
4-in-1 pre-school booster – for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio
TWELVE YEARS OLD
HPV vaccine – to protect against cancers including cervical, mouth, throat, anal and genital areas
FOURTEEN YEARS OLD
3-in-1 teenage booster vaccine – diphtheria tetanus and polio
MenACWY vaccine – meningitis
What jabs do adults need?
FLU VACCINE: Over-65s, pregnant women and at-risk health groups
PNEUMONIA: For over-65s and at-risk groups
MMR: Get this at least a month before getting pregnant if you haven’t had it already
SHINGLES: Over-70s
COVID: Children aged six months to four years old if they are at increased risk of getting seriously ill from Covid.
Adults who are at increased risk of getting seriously ill from Covid due to a health condition or age will be contacted by the NHS this autumn for a booster.
ERADICATE CERVICAL CANCER IN OUR LIFETIME
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.
A recent study found the HPV jab is cutting cases of cervical cancer by 90 per cent.
Scientists say the disease, which killed Big Brother star Jade Goody when she was just 27, could be eradicated “in our lifetime” thanks to the jabs.
The study, led by Queen Mary University of London, adds to previous evidence that suggested the jab is most effective when taken in Year 8 at school.
It also found the vaccine works similarly well across the socio-economic spectrum, with most cases being prevented in more deprived groups.
Until now, there have been concerns that the HPV jab could have an unequal impact across society, meaning it misses out on those in deprived groups where the disease is most prevalent.
Everything you need to know about the HPV vaccine
By Isabel Shaw, health reporter
The HPV vaccine protects against some of the risky HPV types that can lead to genital warts and cancer.
Gardasil has been the HPV vaccine used in the NHS vaccination programme since 2012 and it is protective against nine types of HPV.
For example, it is effective against types 16 and 18, which cause around 80 per cent of cervical cancers in the UK.
That’s why it is important for people who have a cervix to still get a smear test when invited by the NHS.
Cervical cancer takes the lives of 854 people a year currently – but this is expected to continue decreasing thanks to the vaccine.
There are around 3,200 new cases of the devastating cancer a year, with peak incidence in women in their early 30s.
But the HPV vaccine doesn’t just prevent cervical cancer – it stops some anal, genital (vaginal and penile), mouth and throat (head and neck) cancers.
These affect both men and women.
Who should take it?
The first dose of the HPV vaccine is routinely offered to girls and boys aged 12 and 13 in school Year 8.
The second dose is offered six to 24 months after the first dose.
If a schoolchild misses their doses, you can speak to the school jab team or GP surgery to book as soon as possible.
Anyone who missed their jab can get it up to their 25th birthday.
But people who have the first dose of the HPV vaccine at 15 years of age or above will need to have three doses of the vaccine because they do not respond as well to two doses as younger people do.
The HPV vaccine used to only be given to girls who are at risk of cervical cancer when they are older.
But in 2018, it was announced that boys – who can get HPV-related cancers of the head, neck, anus and genitals – would also be given a jab.
Girls indirectly protect boys against HPV related cancers and genital warts because girls will not pass HPV on to them.
But the programme was extended to further eliminate risk of the virus spreading in the future.
Men who have sex with men (gay and bisexual) do not benefit from this indirect protection, and so are also able to get the HPV vaccine up to the age of 45.
Some transgender people can also get the vaccine.
Those assigned female at birth would have gotten one as a child.
But those assigned male at birth could get a jab if they transition to female and have sex with men.
