Government must step up efforts to increase HPV vaccine uptake WEC warns, one year on from its STIs report

• Read the Government's response
• Read the Committee's report
• Women and Equalities Committee

WEC’s report, published in response to record levels of STIs such as syphilis and gonorrhea, focused on the prevalence of STIs in young people and other high-risk groups.

In the wide-ranging report, WEC drew attention to the effectiveness of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, concluding that it “has proven to be extraordinarily effective and presents an opportunity to almost eradicate cervical and other herpes-driven cancers”.

The delivery of the HPV vaccine was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and at the time of publishing the report uptake remained significantly below 2019 levels and far short of the NHS target of 90% coverage by 2030. WEC warned “It is a tragedy that not all children are receiving the vaccine”.

The Committee recommended: “The Government must step up its efforts to increase take up of the HPV vaccine, including as a first step, by targeting the cohort of children who may have missed out on vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Given the significant proportion of children who have not received the vaccine and the potential benefits the vaccine can have in treating HPV, we recommend that sexual health services (SHSs) be able to deliver the vaccine to all those who would benefit from receiving it.”

Since WEC produced its report, figures for 2023-24 have been published. They show further decreases in uptake in some cohorts and reveal that post-pandemic catch-up activity has only been completed in 62.3% of local authorities. In some London boroughs over two thirds of children are missing out on the vaccine. The Committee notes that the most deprived communities are most at risk of cervical cancer. While there has been a slight increase in uptake in the year 8 cohort, overall, just 72.9% of female and 67.7% of male year students received the HPV vaccine.

Reasons given for the decline include an increase in the number of non-returned and declined consent forms, possible vaccine hesitancy and fatigue following the pandemic and “staffing issues which made it more challenging to follow up non-consenting students”.

In its response published today (Wednesday, 7 May), the Government partially accepted WEC’s recommendations on improving uptake, acknowledging “short-term fluctuations in vaccine uptake, as occurred during Covid-19 pandemic” but added “the expectation is for all regions to achieve 90% HPV vaccine coverage for both males and females”.

It said: “A range of activities have been undertaken since the pandemic to recover school aged vaccination services. School aged vaccination teams are working in line with their service specification to offer various catch-up initiatives to target unvaccinated individuals…. 

“In addition, although not a formally commissioned service, clinicians in specialist SHS clinics may use their clinical discretion to vaccinate eligible, unvaccinated individuals using national vaccine stock. This was confirmed in a letter to sexual health clinicians on 5^th December 2024 and is in addition to existing routes through which the HPV vaccine is offered. This can help mitigate inequalities in vaccine uptake. Further, NHSE has developed an HPV improvement plan to support regions and their commissioned providers to improve vaccine uptake.”

Chair's comments

Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP Sarah Owen said:

“While it is welcome the Government has accepted or partially accepted the recommendations in WEC’s STIs report, levels of HPV vaccine remain concerning, particularly in our most deprived communities. It is alarming that a significant proportion of children are not receiving a vaccine that is safe and extremely effective in reducing the risk of a range of cancers.

“It is vital efforts are stepped up to improve HPV vaccine take up. The Government needs to redouble its efforts in challenging potential vaccine hesitancy and promote the benefits of the vaccine. It is also troubling that children are missing out on the vaccine simply due to non-return of consent forms. I urge the Government to allocate more resource to pursuing consent and to ensuring as many people as possible are able to benefit from the protection HPV vaccination delivers.

“The Committee will keep a watching brief on NHS England’s plan to mitigate inequalities and improve access to services including vaccination.”

Image: House of Commons