Half of pupils missed out on HPV vaccine while schools were closed during coronavirus lockdown, figures reveal

Nearly half of eligible children missed out on potentially lifesaving HPV vaccines this year because schools were forced to close during lockdown.

Figures published yesterday show that only 54 per cent of boys and 59 per cent of girls have been given the jab in the past year. This compares with an uptake of 88 per cent among schoolgirls in 2018-19.

The HPV vaccine prevents infection from human papillomavirus, a common group of viruses that are behind 90 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

The Daily Mail launched its Give Children Their Jabs campaign last October after an alarming NHS report revealed falling uptake of all ten childhood vaccines File

It has been given to girls at the age of 12 and 13 in UK since 2008, and was last year also made available to teenage boys for the first time. It also helps prevent cancers in men.

The Daily Mail launched its Give Children Their Jabs campaign last October after an alarming NHS report revealed falling uptake of all ten childhood vaccines.

But lockdown meant that all school immunisation programmes were paused. Figures published yesterday by Public Health England show the huge disruption after schools closed to most children on March 23.

Of 150 local authorities, only eight have fully completed their HPV immunisation programme before lockdown. 

And 26 had carried out no HPV vaccination at all, the majority of which were in London.

Campaigners warned that this risks creating a ‘postcode lottery’ in immunisation. 

Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust: ‘We know that the HPV vaccination programme has the potential to save many lives.

‘It is crucial that there are clear plans put in place to ensure we catch up with the huge cohort of young people who have missed out on the vaccine.’

Dr Vanessa Saliba, from Public Health England, said: ‘All school immunisation providers have started to offer catch-up vaccination, following interruption due to the pandemic.’

Of 150 local authorities, only eight have fully completed their HPV immunisation programme before lockdown. And 26 had carried out no HPV vaccination at all, the majority of which were in London File