The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7476 p490
3 November 2007

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HPV vaccine for girls 12–13 years

Routine vaccination against cervical cancer is to be offered to girls aged 12 to 13 years in Britain, the health departments announced last week. The human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme, due to start in September next year, could cost up to £100m per annum in England, the Department of Health confirmed.

A two-year catch-up programme for girls up to 18 years of age has also received the green light to begin in autumn 2009. The DoH estimates the catch-up scheme could cost as much as £200m in 2009–10 and 2010–11, but it intends to negotiate a reduced procurement price for the HPV vaccine.

The Scottish Government is rolling out the catch-up programme some 12 months earlier than England and Wales, with both programmes scheduled to begin in Scotland next September. The Scottish Government expects the routine HPV immunisation to cost some £9m each year, and the catch-up campaign in the vicinity of £36m.

The programmes have been adopted in England, Wales and Scotland following recommendations by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The JCVI did not make a recommendation on which of the two licensed HPV vaccines — Gardasil or Cervarix — should be used.