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JCVI decision on HPV vaccinations

19 November 2015

RSPH urges vaccination equality as government committee set to announce decision on extending HPV jab

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is urging the government’s vaccination advisory committee (the JCVI) to extend vaccination for human papilloma virus (HPV) – currently only given to girls – to all boys, ahead of the announcement expected this week  of the committee’s decision on whether to extend vaccination to men who have sex with men (MSM).

HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection that causes a range of cancers (cervical, vaginal, vulval, penile, anal, and oral) as well as genital warts. It is estimated that, every year, HPV causes almost 5,000 cases of cancer and more than 39,000 cases of genital warts in women, and more than 2,000 cases of cancer and 48,000 cases of genital warts in men [1].

The HPV vaccination is offered to all girls at the age of 12 or 13, with take up rates at 86% nationally [2], but as low as 80% among some demographics [3]. Boys are not currently vaccinated, on the basis that female vaccination offers them herd immunity. However, this does not protect MSM, or those who may have sex with women from outside the vaccinated population. The JCVI began an inquiry into the benefits and cost-effectiveness of male vaccination in 2013, but this is not expected to report until 2017, delaying potential implementation until 2020 at the earliest.

In the meantime, the JCVI has been considering whether to extend the vaccination to MSM only, through a programme targeted at men aged 16-40 through sexual health clinics. Although this move would be welcomed, RSPH, alongside the other 41 members of the HPV Action campaign group, is clear that this is at best a stopgap, and vaccination must ultimately be extended to all boys to offer full and equal protection from HPV and its consequences.

Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of RSPH, said: “Extending the HPV vaccination to men who have sex with men, while a step in the right direction, is an imperfect solution. For the vaccination to be most effective, it must be delivered at age 12 or 13, before infection through sexual activity and when the immune response is greatest. The proposed programme for MSM would be unlikely to reach enough men, nor reach them at the optimal time, while it would be neither ethical nor practical to try to identify and vaccinate adolescent boys who might later become MSM. The only foolproof solution is to extend the vaccination to all boys. All children, whatever their gender or sexual orientation, have the right to full and equal protection from the life threatening cancers associated with HPV. The longer we delay, the more people we are leaving at risk from a preventable infection.”

 

Notes to editors:

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH)

  • The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is an independent health education charity, dedicated to protecting and promoting the public’s health and wellbeing;
  • We are the world’s longest-established public health body with over 6000 members drawn from the public health community both in the UK and internationally;
  • Our operations include an Ofqual recognised awarding organisation, a training and development arm, and health and wellbeing accreditation.
  • We also produce a wide-variety of public health conferences; our publishing division includes the internationally renowned journal Public Health; and we are developing policy and campaigns to promote better health and wellbeing.
  • For more information visit www.rsph.org.uk or follow us on Twitter: @R_S_P_H
     

HPV Action

  • HPV Action is a collaborative partnership of 41 patient and professional organisations that advocates HPV vaccination for both boys and girls. Its members are: British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, British Dental Association, British Dental Health Foundation, British Federation against Sexually Transmitted Infections, British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy, Brook, Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, Children’s HIV Association of the UK & Ireland (CHIVA), ENT UK, European Men’s Health Forum, Faculty of Public Health, Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, Family Planning Association, GMFA (Gay Men’s Health Charity), HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation, Let’s Talk About Mouth Cancer, London Cancer Alliance, London Friend, MEDFASH (Medical Foundation for HIV and Sexual Health), Men’s Health Forum (England and Wales), Men’s Health Forum Ireland, Mouth Cancer Foundation, National Aids Manual, National Association of Laryngectomee Clubs (NALC), National Union of Students, Northern Head and Neck Cancer Fund, Oral Cancer Foundation (USA), Primary Care Urology Society, Reproductive Health Matters, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal Society for Public Health, The School and Public Health Nurses Association, Sexpression:UK, Society of Sexual Health Advisers, Stonewall, The Swallows Head and Neck Cancer Support Group, Tenovus, Terrence Higgins Trust, Throat Cancer Foundation, The Urology Foundation, Wellbeing of Women.
  • For more information visit www.hpvaction.org or follow @HPVAction
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