Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) today, all UK countries have agreed, in principle, to introduce the Human Papilloma Viruses (HPV) vaccine for girls aged around 12. This will be subject to independent peer review of the cost benefit analysis. Funding for this will be considered in the context of Comprehensive Spending Review.
Routine vaccination of girls could start as early as autumn 2008. Details of the programme will be finalised over the next few months, following further advice from JCVI and discussions with the Health and Social Care Service on how the programme will be implemented.
Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey said: “Cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer of women across the world. In Northern Ireland each year between 70 to 90 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and in 2003 just over 30 women died from the disease.
“The benefits of introducing this vaccine will be felt by women and their families for many generations to come.
“I want to seek the views of parents and schools and also find out what the support, training and information needs of health professionals are to ensure that the programme is implemented as quickly and as effectively as possible.”
Even if a HPV vaccine were to be introduced the cervical screening programme would need to continue for many years, at least until the first group of females vaccinated reached aged 65 when women are no longer routinely invited for screening.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that HPV vaccines are clearly beneficial. It has commissioned a cost-effectiveness analysis which will be the subject on an external peer review. The JCVI is expected to make their formal recommendation at the next meeting on 17 October 2007.
- HPV causes 99 percent of invasive cervical cancer. The vaccine protects against the viruses responsible for about 70 percent of cases.
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