No change in Westminster policy, though hopeful signs in Northern Ireland

31 January 2019

There has been no change in the government position on the HPV vaccination catch-up proposal, with the insistence that herd immunity offers sufficient protection still holding sway. The position of HPV Action remains that this approach is inconsistent in its treatment of 12/13-year-old boys, who are deemed in need of vaccination, and older year groups, who are not. HPV Action will continue to advocate a catch-up programme, and will push this perspective at the forthcoming meeting with Public Health England taking place on 13 February. There has been no official confirmation that the reduced vaccination programme for boys, as approved by government, will start in September. Hopefully an announcement will be made at the upcoming meeting with the implementation group,

The following developments are also worth sharing:

• Richard Pengelly, the Northern Ireland Department of Health Permanent Secretary, told the NI Affairs Committee earlier this month that he hopes to use new powers from Westminster to extend the HPV vaccine to boys, pending the 2019/20 financial settlement. This will hopefully be confirmed in the coming weeks.
• On 24 January, the Royal Society for Public Health published a report on vaccine confidence, including confidence in the HPV vaccine, highlighting the pernicious role played by social media in disseminating false information. The report makes a number of practical suggestions for action. HPV Action encourages all members to share the report as widely as possible – including, of course, via social media.
• The second international HPV Awareness Day will take place on 4 March. HPV Action is a signed-up supporter, as are several of our members. Please do what you can to share information about the Day – and sign up too, if you can.
• The number of countries offering or planning to offer gender-neutral vaccination continues to increase, the latest being Antigua and Belgium (Flanders region only).
• Work has now started on the establishment of HPV Action Europe and meetings have been taking place with potential members. At this stage, contact has been predominantly with Europe-wide bodies, but national organisations from individual nations are also welcome. There is no cost for membership; interested HPV Action members should contact Peter Baker for more information. A ‘soft launch’ for HPV Action Europe is planned for European Immunisation Week on 24-30 April, with a full-scale launch taking place in Brussels in September.

Finally, Peter Baker reports that HPV Action’s funding is once again running low. While any donations, whether large or small, are very welcome, he recognises that contributions may naturally be less forthcoming now that the organisation has achieved its original aim of ensuring some level of vaccination for adolescent boys. Peter Baker is willing to continue his work for HPV Action on a voluntary basis for the time being, and suggests that the organisation wait for confirmation of the start-date for boys’ vaccination and then review its future, including the possibility of a managed closure, rather than a mere fizzling out.