Herefordshire girls offered new protective HPV vaccine

The new national HPV Immunisation Programme is officially launched this week by the Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo. The principal aim of the programme is to protect girls against future risk of cervical cancer.

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will be offered routinely to all 12 - 13 year old girls (School Year 8), commencing this September as schools return for the autumn term. Over the next three years there will also be a catch-up programme for older girls aged between 13 - 18 years, starting with 17 - 18 year olds this autumn.

The programme will be implemented across Herefordshire by the Primary Care Trust's School Nursing Service, working closely with high schools and other health professionals. This vaccine will only be available through the School Nursing Service. The programme will be delivered in a staged approach across all the high schools, sixth form schools and colleges in the county.

In the next few weeks parents/guardians will receive a letter and leaflet about the vaccination programme, and a consent form which they are encouraged to sign and return to the PCT's School Nursing, to ensure their daughters receive the vaccine.

Dr Akeem Ali, Director of Public Health for Herefordshire Primary Care Trust and Herefordshire Council said, "I would encourage everyone who is offered this vaccine to take it. This is one of the biggest public health campaigns we have seen in recent years and we now have the opportunity of helping to prevent the spread of a serious disease that affects over 3,000 women every year in the UK, and causes over 1,000 deaths.

Dr Arif Mahmood, Consultant in Public Health at Herefordshire Primary Care Trust, said, "By having the HPV vaccine, the risk of young women developing this very serious disease later in life may drop by as much as 70%."

Note
Catch-up campaign: All girls aged 17-18 years (born between 1st September 1990 and 31st August 1991) will be offered the vaccine from September 2008.

All girls aged 16 to 18 years (born between 1st September 1991 and 31st August 1993) will be offered the vaccine from the beginning of the 2009/10 school year.

All girls aged 15 to 17 years (born between 1st September 1993 and 31st August 1995) will be offered vaccine form the beginning of the 2010/11 school year

Vaccination clinics: The school nurses will hold clinics at all the high schools, sixth form schools and colleges in the county. Special clinics will be held at various NHS premises to offer vaccine to those girls who are not in education. The date and venue of these clinics will shortly be advertised.

All girls eligible for HPV vaccine attending schools/colleges in Herefordshire will be offered the vaccine regardless of their area of residence. However reciprocal agreements have been put in place with the neighbouring PCTs and Welsh Local Health Boards to ensure that Herefordshire girls who attend schools/colleges outside Herefordshire get HPV vaccine.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide.

The vaccine Cervarix® has been purchased by the Department of Health to be used in the HPV vaccination programme. Three doses of the vaccine are needed over around a 6 month period. By July 2011, over two million girls will have been offered the HPV vaccine.

The routine vaccination protects against two strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) which cause over 70% of cases of cervical cancer. It is estimated that up to 400 lives every year could be saved through the introduction of this vaccination programme.

For further information visit the NHS website www.immunisation.nhs.uk/hpv or contact NHS Direct's special HPV helpline on 0845 602 3303.

The NHS cervical screening programme plays a vital role in protecting women against cervical cancer. It will continue to after the introduction of the HPV vaccine. More than three million women are screened each year saving up to 4,500 lives in England. It's important that all women decide to go for cervical screening from the age of 25, whether or not they've had the vaccine.