What discussions have taken place regarding the implemention of a catch-up programme for the HPV injection for boys, following the three year delay of a decision by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation on the issue?
The HPV vaccination programme will be offered to boys at the same ages as the existing girls’ programme – i.e. to boys aged 12-13 (in school year 8). Older boys i.e. those aged 13-18 (or in school year 9 and above) will not be offered the vaccine on a “catch-up” basis. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the Welsh Government on immunisation matters, has not recommended a ‘catch up’ programme for this older group. The success of ten years of the girls’ programme and high uptake of the vaccine has greatly reduced the spread of the HPV strains the vaccine protects against and has provided substantial herd protection to unvaccinated boys and girls. As a result, there are limited additional benefits to be gained from a national ‘catch-up’ programme for older boys.
A start date for extending the HPV vaccination programme to boys in Wales has not yet been set. The rollout of the programme is dependent on a number of factors, a key one being procurement of the necessary vaccine supplies. Vaccines for childhood programmes are purchased centrally for the UK and the tendering/contract process for the extra HPV vaccine is currently under way. Once this process is complete, we will have a clearer picture of when the vaccine supplies will be available to start the programme. The working assumption is that the programme will begin during the academic year 2019-20. I hope to be able to confirm this shortly.