Written question WQ88587
- Asked by
- Russell GeorgeConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
What steps is the Government taking to increase HPV vaccination rates in Wales to meet the WHO’s 90 per cent target amongst both boys and girls?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
We are committed to improving outcomes for all cancer and have set out our approach in the Quality Statement for Cancer, which can be found at: The quality statement for cancer [HTML] | GOV.WALES
The NHS has responded to this and published in January the Cancer Improvement Plan for Wales, which can be found at: Wales Cancer Network - NHS Wales Executive
These documents do not commit to the eradication of cervical or other HPV-related cancers.
Public Health Wales (PHW) publishes cervical cancer incidence, and this can be found at: Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU) - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
As part of our National Immunisation Framework, we want everyone in Wales to understand the importance and benefits of immunisation. Working with PHW, we have jointly developed a guide to vaccinations for young people in school years 7 to 11, which includes information on the HPV vaccination offer. We will make this resource available to Directors of Education to disseminate to schools at the start of the new academic year.
This summer, PHW will be running a targeted communications campaign on the benefits of HPV vaccination. These steps are in addition to PHW’s suite of resources available for the public and health and social care professionals: A-Z Vaccination Information - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales).
As outlined in the recent Welsh Health Circular, the HPV vaccine will be offered as one dose to both boys and girls from September 2023. The WHC sets out the programme’s ambition to reach the highest level of population protection and vaccine coverage among girls and boys before they reach the age of 15 years.
Uptake of the HPV vaccination was impacted during the pandemic due to school closures and access restrictions. Health board vaccination teams have made significant efforts to recover and increase uptake within the programme. This work is ongoing. The move to a one dose programme will help to minimise disruption for schools and release capacity, whilst still providing the same long-lasting protection when offered in early adolescence.