HPV vaccine programme to be extended to 12 and 13 year old boys

Public Health England has announced that boys aged 12 and 13 years will be offered the free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, from September 2019. It has been estimated that by 2058 this programme extension will prevent more than 64,000 cervical cancers and almost 50,000 non-cervical cancers like genital cancers and cancers of the head and neck.
Chair of the British Medical Association’s board of science, Dame Parveen Kumar, said: “Universal HPV vaccination is the most effective way of preventing HPV-related infection and disease … given the growing body of evidence that HPV is also responsible for a range of cancers that can affect men.”
Head of immunisation at Public Health England, Mary Ramsay, said: “This universal programme offers us the opportunity to make HPV-related diseases a thing of the past and build on the success of the girls’ programme. I encourage all parents of eligible boys and girls to make sure they take up the offer for this potentially life-saving vaccine. It’s important not to delay vaccination, as the vaccine may be less effective as adolescents get older.”