British Dental Health Foundation reacts to HPV vaccination decision
The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) believes that the UK government’s vaccination advisory committee’s (JCVI) decision to extend HPV vaccinations to men aged 16-40 who have sex with men (MSM) via sexual health clinics, although a positive move, does not go far enough.
HPV is a leading cause of mouth cancer which can be transferred through oral sex; cases of mouth cancer have increased in the last decade, and experts predict HPV to overtake smoking as the leading cause of mouth cancer in the future.
Every year more than 7,000 Brits are diagnosed with mouth cancer, with the disease taking over 2,000 lives.
HPV Action Campaign Director Peter Baker recently spoke at the launch of Mouth Cancer Action Month at the House of Commons, urging MPs to urgently change current HPV vaccination programme to help save thousands of lives from cancer.
Mr Baker responded to the JCVI decision by saying that “HPV Action hopes the government now makes a speedy decision to vaccinate all boys. Vaccinating some MSM is a step forward but is not sufficient to protect the UK population as a whole from a range of serious but preventable HPV-related diseases.”
Speaking on the announcement Dr Nigel Carter OBE, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation said the BDHF “welcome this decision” but “this change in policy does not go nearly far enough.
He continued to say that the BDHF “echo the statement from HPV Action” who say that “many more thousands of people will continue to go unprotected under these guidelines.”
Dr Carter criticised the method of the decision, noting that ” vaccinating MSM who attend sexual health clinics is not the best way to approach the programme, this is because many MSM do not attend sexual health clinics, with the average age of first attendance being 28.
“The key decision on whether to vaccinate all adolescent boys is still too far away, with a decision due in 2017 at the earliest, even if that decision is positive the implementation may not happen until 2020. With every year that passes, 400,000 more boys are left unprotected against HPV-related diseases.
“We will continue to support HPV Action and use our voice to drive forward an earlier decision.”
