Almost three -quarters of teenagers in some parts of England miss a crucial cancer vaccine, health officials warned today.
The JAB is offered to children from 12 to 13 years old to protect them against human papillomavirus.
Infection with the virus – also known as HPV – can cause different types of cancers, including those in the head, neck and cervix.
HPV is usually spread by vaginal, anal and oral sex with someone who has already been infected, with about a third of the people who are infected at any time.
Although a very HPV -effective vaccine has been offered to all girls since 2008 in year 8, and all boys since 2019, show the last data, as little as a third of the children in some areas of England, they don’t get it – they vulnerable in later life.
Experts have now insisted on parents to ensure that their child gets the vaccine and labeling the ‘one of the most powerful tools we have for cancer prevention’.
It comes in the midst of a documented rise in head and neck cancer, especially among younger and middle-aged patients who are linked to HPV distribution through oral sex.
Research has suggested that HPV may be responsible for a maximum of 70 percent of the main and neck cancer.
Only 67.2 percent of the girls were fully vaccinated in 2021/22, at a peak of 86.7 percent in 2013/14. About 62.4 percent of boys, who have offered the JAB on the NHS since 2019, were poked in the most recent school year, NHS data shows
The virus is also responsible for almost all (99.7 percent) of all cases of cervical cancer, a form of the disease that develops in a cervix for women.
Nationally, more than one in four young people who are eligible for the JAB de JAB have not included, according to data for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
But analysis shows that the admission is much lower in certain parts of the nation.
The town of Brent in the north-west of London registered the lowest HPV recording of a local area, with only one in four girls in year 9 years 13 or 14-Had the puncture.
However, it was the prosperous town of Kensington and Chelsea, which registered the lowest admission to boys in year 9 – took only 25.8 percent.
In the meantime, under year 10 students – 14 or 15 – Vaccination levels in girls ranged ranging from 38.7 percent (Lambeth in London) to 97.6 percent (Northumberland).
Among boys it varied from 28.2 percent (Lambeth in London) to 92.2 percent (West Berkshire).
Dr. Sharif Ismail, consultant -epidemiologist at the VK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: ‘The HPV vaccine, now only a single dose offered at schools, is one of the most powerful tools we have for cancer prevention.
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‘Each vaccination represents a young person with better protection against the devastating impact of HPV-related cancers, and we have to do more to ensure that no teenager or boy, young woman or man is denied protection, wherever they live.
‘We call on all parents to immediately return the HPV vaccination permission from their children.
“This simple action can protect your child against the development of cancer in the future.”
Dr. Ismail said that every young adult up to 25 years of age who missed his school can also talk to their doctor about catching up options.
He also insisted on women to still attend cervical screening to ensure that they are checked for changes that can lead to cervical cancer.
Cancer Research UK Chief Executive Michelle Mitchell added: ‘Thanks to the power of research and the efforts of NHS employees, a future in which almost no one gets cervical cancer cancer is in sight.
‘This progress depends on the access of people to two life-saving offers-HPV vaccination and screening. Together they offer the best protection against the disease.
‘Beating cervical cancer means beating it for everyone, so I encourage all parents and guardians to ensure that young people do not miss the HPV vaccine.
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“And if you receive your invitation from the cervical screening, don’t ignore it.”
Dr. Amanda Doyle, national director of first -line care and community services at NHS England, said: ‘The NHS HPV vaccination program has already helped to save thousands of lives and we have to continue to help the recording of HPV -vaccines and cervicals to help eliminate in England in England.
“If we can ensure that almost every year 10 girl is protected in some areas and it is extremely unlikely that we will ever develop cervical cancer, we have to match this in every part of the country.”
About two women in Britain die every day of cervical cancer, which was famous on TV personality Jade Goody at the age of only 27.
The disease is often called a ‘silent murderer’ because its symptoms can be easily seen for less serious problems, such as tough periods and exhaustion.
But if the signs are recognized early, the chance of surviving at least five years is around 95 percent.
This falls to 15 percent if the cancer is detected in later stages when it has spread to other parts of the body.
Children are offered the HPV -JAB in early adolescence because it is considered the most effective when it is given before someone becomes sexually active.
NHS cervical screening data, which will go back to 2011, show that the recording that year was highest (75.7 percent) and has fallen over time
UKHSA emphasized the low percentages of the recording of HPV vaccine as part of the awareness week of the screening of cervical cancer.
Women from 25 to 49 years old are currently invited to the UK for a cervical screening check on their general practitioner operation every five years.
They were previously offered screening every three years, but this was recently changed after the longer period turned out to be just as effective.
For those who are between 50 and 64 years old, it is offered every five years.
Screening is demonstrably all the more important for women aged 34 years and older, who have not received a vaccine that protects against the vast majority of cervical cancers as part of the school program that was introduced in 2008.
Depending on the result of the smear, some women can be recalled earlier than the routine intervals of three years.
But the absorption of the screening generally remains low. Only about 70 percent of the eligible women, around 4.6 million, appear before their planned test.
Shame is a factor, according to research from chartering institutions of cervical cancer.
For half of the 1.3 million no-shows every year, getting free work and finding a handy time to fit into an appointment are the other reasons why they miss it.
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