Tue, 28/11/2023 - 11:39
Today, Public Health Scotland has published their HPV immunisation statistics for the school year 2022-23. Unfortunately just 79.5% of S2 pupils received the vaccine, a drop of almost 4 percentage points from last year.
Worryingly, children from the most deprived areas are more likely to leave school without having had the HPV jag. Just 83.5% of S4 pupils from the most deprived communities receivie the vaccine, compared to 92.7% from the least deprived - a difference of 9.2%. In order to make cervical cancer a thing of the past, we need to ensure high uptake and tackle inequalities in our cancer prevention programmes such as cervical screening and the HPV vaccine. Read full report about the opportunities and challenges to eliminating cervical cancer in the UK >
Our newly appointed Chief Executive, Martin Hunt, states
"Along with cervical screening, the HPV vaccine is one of the best ways to prevent cervical cancer, so it's disappointing to see a drop in vaccine uptake across Scotland. We're particularly worried to see that children from the most deprived areas are far more likely to leave school without having had the HPV jag - with a difference of 9.2% in uptake between the most and least deprived groups. Ensuring high uptake of the vaccine and tackling inequalities is essential if we are going to end cervical cancer. For any parents with questions about the vaccine, we'd encourage you to visit the Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust website to find out more."