A VACCINE to protect against cervical cancer could be offered to more women than first planned, it emerged yesterday.
The Scottish Government has outlined details of a £64 million school-based programme using the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the under-18s, starting in September.
But Shona Robison, the public health minister, yesterday said discussions w
ere ongoing about whether it could also offer benefits for women up to age 25.
Research has so far suggested the vaccine works best in young girls who are not yet sexually active. But it may also offer some benefit to older women, especially those who have had limited exposure to HPV through sexual contact.
HPV is sexually transmitted and causes the majority of cervical cancers. The vaccination should protect against the strains of the virus responsible for about 70 per cent of cervical cancers.
Currently the vaccine Gardasil – the first HPV vaccine to be approved – is licensed for use in women up to the age of 26.
Ms Robison said the existing programme was focusing on under-18s because the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation did not recommend it for women up to the age of 25. "It is not part of the national programme," she said. "But we are continuing to look at whether there is something that could be done for that group of women who may have newly acquired HPV infection, but we have not reached any conclusions on that."
Ms Robison said it was a complex issue, but a decision was expected in the next few months.
Pamela Morton, from the cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, said allowing older women to have the vaccine would be a welcome development. "In Australia, they offer women aged 18 to 26 the opportunity to have the vaccine free of charge.
"The results show that 80 per cent have taken up the offer. To have a similar system in the UK would be very welcome."
Until a decision is made on this older group of women, health boards have to start preparing for the school vaccination programme. Ms Robison said they would receive an extra £1.5 million this year. It is expected that special teams of nurses will deliver the vaccine in schools, while older girls may be targeted through their GP.
In the first year of the programme, girls in S2, S5 and S6 will be vaccinated. Scotland is starting the catch-up campaign for girls up to 18 a year ahead of the rest of the UK.
In the first two years, 180,000 girls will be offered the vaccine. A campaign this summer will inform parents and young people about the plans.
Previously, some have expressed concerns about young girls being vaccinated against what is essentially a sexually transmitted infection.
Ms Robison said she was confident that people would support the vaccine programme and parents would be asked for consent. However, girls could still overrule the wishes of their parents.
She said the programme was the biggest and most expensive immunisation campaign ever undertaken in Scotland.
"It has potential to deliver tremendous health benefits for future generations of young women, offering them protection against the virus responsible for almost three-quarters of cervical cancers."
But the Royal College of Nursing questioned whether enough money had been made available to introduce the programme.
