Minister rejects HPV Action proposal

13 December 2018

HPV Action has received a reply to the letter sent on behalf of the organisation to public health minister Steve Brine MP. In it, the minister rules out the proposed catch-up programme for boys, stating that this would ‘place additional pressure on NHS delivery services, which risks delay or disruption to the roll-out of the routine HPV programme for boys.’

The shadow public health minister, Sharon Hodgson, who also wrote to the minister about the rejected catch-up programme, received the same reply and has now tabled parliamentary questions and helped generate press coverage from the Guardian and the Daily Mail.

Since sending the letter in early November, it has emerged that the manufacturers would be unable to supply enough vaccine for a catch-up programme beginning in 2019/20. HPV Action have therefore suggested to Department of Health and Social Care officials that they instead begin a programme in 2020/21, offering catch-up vaccinations only to 14-16-year olds. This would be cheaper than the previous proposal, both because of the total numbers involved, and because most recipients would require only two doses. Representatives of HPV Action are currently awaiting a response to this new suggestion.