Teenage boys should get HPV jab
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- Published: Wednesday, 19 April 2017 07:44
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Teenage boys should be encouraged to get the HPV vaccination as well as girls, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference heard. Public Health England is considering plans to extend the vaccination programme to boys, after international studies showed that by 2020 the number of men contracting cancer from the HPV infection will outstrip the number of women.
Hundreds of thousands of young men were being left at risk from the human papilloma virus (HPV) each year, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference heard. Educators have a “duty of care” to ensure they get the information they need to choose to get vaccinated against it, delegates were told. The conference has also heard calls for young people to be educated about the importance of using protection such as dental dams during sexual activities such as oral sex. ATL passed a resolution calling for the union to raise awareness that HPV can cause a range of illnesses besides cervical cancer.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at Public Health England (PHE), said: “The HPV vaccine uptake rates in England are amongst the highest in the world, with latest figures showing that around 85% of eligible girls are fully immunised. This helps to prevent the spread of this diseases in girls and boys. PHE has been asked by the independent Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to look at the impact of extending the HPV vaccination programme to adolescent boys. We are also running a pilot vaccination programme in men who have sex with men. The JCVI will review the evidence from this work.”
Boots has also launched a national campaign aimed at encouraging teenage boys to come into stores for an HPV vaccination. It announced that it will stock the vaccine in stores across the country, but parents will have to pay £300 for their sons to have the vaccine if they are aged 12-14, rising to £450 if they are 15 or over. Boots’ campaign is supported by television doctor Dr Christian Jessen who spoke to the Independent about how vaccinating boys could prevent the spread of HPV, thereby reducing rates of cervical cancer. The campaign is being supported by Jeff Brazier whose wife Jade Goody passed away from cervical cancer in 2009.
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