THE NHS is urging people to have the lifesaving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as part of a push to eliminate cervical cancer in the south west.

GP practices will be sending invitations to patients aged 16-25 whose records show they did not get their HPV vaccination in school in an effort to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 as set out in the recently-published 10 Year Health Plan.

The vaccine is routinely offered each year to boys and girls in year eight (aged 12-13) to help protect them against catching the HPV infection which causes nearly all cervical cancers, and is linked to cancers of the mouth, throat, and genitals.

While, in the 2023/24 academic year, 77.9% of girls and 72.8% of boys aged 14-15 in the South West were vaccinated by year 10, the NHS say there are believed to be many people aged 16-25 who were not jabbed at school.

As such, GPs will be contacting those who have not got an HPV vaccination on their records in a bid to reach as many of these people as possible.

Dr Alasdair Wood, Consultant in Health Protection and Vaccine Preventable Disease Lead at UKHSA South West said: “We know that uptake of the HPV vaccination in young people has fallen significantly since the pandemic, leaving many many thousands across the country at greater risk of HPV-related cancers.

“This is a real concern as each HPV vaccine, now just a single dose offered in schools, gives a young person good protection against the devastating impact of these cancers, which includes cervical, genital, mouth and throat cancers.

“This new catch-up campaign is a really important opportunity for us to make sure that no teenage girl or boy, young woman or man is denied that protection.”