Changes to the HPV vaccination programme

Updating the HPV vaccination programme 

Changes to the programme for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine have been rolled out in England from September 2023 following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).  Teenagers and eligible gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) under the age of 25 will now be offered a single dose of the vaccination rather than two. 

JCVI has issued a concluding statement and a letter from NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency has been sent to providers about changes to the programme.  HPV immunisation protects against cancers caused by HPV including cervical cancer, some head and neck cancers and some cancers of the anal and genital areas, as well as genital warts.  A review of the evidence concluded a single dose of the vaccine in healthy young people offers robust protection which is comparable to two doses.   

Other countries such as Australia and Scotland have already moved to this schedule.  The HPV vaccine which was introduced into the NHS programme in 2008 remains one of the most successful in the world; a recent study found that cervical cancer rates were 87% lower in young women who had been eligible for HPV vaccination when they were aged 12-13 years compared with young women who had not been offered the vaccine. The impact of the programme changes will be closely monitored to review the impact. 

Advice in place 

As of September 2023, the following advice was put in place:  

• routine adolescent HPV immunisation programme for all children in school year 8 (aged 12 to 13 years) will move from two doses to one dose, offered mainly in secondary schools – this includes children not in mainstream school via a community clinic delivery model 
• eligible gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) under the age of 25 will move from two doses to one dose, offered through sexual health clinics 
• eligible GBMSM aged 25 to 45 years will remain on a two-dose schedule, offered through sexual health clinics 

• eligible individuals who are immunosuppressed or those known to be HIV-positive will remain on a three-dose schedule 
• catch-up: eligible individuals who started their HPV vaccination schedule and have already received one dose of the vaccine by September 2023 will be considered fully vaccinated – those who missed out on their one dose HPV vaccine can catch up until their 25th birthday via their GP practice. 

The teenage programme will continue to be school based, but patients may request advice and support from you about the changes.  Please continue to support them with the information they need to make informed decisions, vaccination coverage has not caught back up to pre-pandemic levels.  Please remind patients who missed out on their routine vaccination that they remain eligible until their 25th birthday and that they can catch up through the practice.  The resources below include links to information for professionals as well as leaflets and posters which you could provide at the practice.  

Where can I find out more? 

• HPV vaccination programme page – this has a guidance for healthcare practitioners document, factsheet for health professionals, as well as patient posters and leaflets HPV vaccination programme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 
• Press release: HPV vaccination programme moves to single dose from September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  
• Vaccine update – this is a newsletter for health professionals about vaccines which can be subscribed to Vaccine update - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and there was an edition in June dedicated to the HPV changes Vaccine update: issue 339, June 2023, HPV special edition - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 
• The Green Book – Immunisation against infectious disease: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book 
• The Immunisation pages – this includes key updates and the current routine immunisation schedule https://www.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/health-protection-immunisation  

• JCVI pages - gives details of the membership and minutes of meetings of the JCVI https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation