Response to HPV vaccination decision

Girls aged 12-13 have been vaccinated against HPV on the NHS since 2008 and boys are vaccinated in eleven other countries, but the JCVI’s recent interim statement suggests that boys in the UK will not receive the same protection, despite the fact that HPV causes five per cent of all cancers. Every year, 2,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with an HPV-related cancer – almost half of whom will die from the condition within five years. The statement recognises that “HPV vaccine in boys… would provide those vaccinated with direct protection against HPV infection and associated disease”, but rejects vaccination of boys on the grounds that it would not be, “a cost effective use of health service resources in the UK setting”. The JCVI decision was made despite the fact that a recent survey of FGDP(UK), BDA and BMA members showed that 97 per cent of dentists and 94 per cent of GPs backed vaccination of boys.