The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has been reviewing the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme, concluded that it was “highly unlikely to be cost-effective” to extend the scheme to include adolescent boys as well as girls. Since 2008, all girls aged 12 to 13 are offered the HPV vaccination as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme, and the JCVI has been considering whether to include boys on the scheme since 2014. Asha Kasliwal, the FSRH president, said the interim decision to deny boys the HPV vaccination was a huge missed opportunity for improving long-term sexual and reproductive health outcomes and tackling gender inequality. Kasliwal said: “FSRH aims to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health, especially access to contraception. However, HPV affects not only women, but also men, and FSRH firmly believes that men and boys are vital in contributing to secure women’s reproductive health and rights.

Source: The Guardian July 19, 2017 18:10 UTC