The NHS in the South West has urged parents and carers to protect their children against HPV on HPV Awareness Day, March 4.

It is offered to all children aged 12 to 13, typically in school Year 8, through school-based vaccination teams. The most recent data show that in the South West, only 73.7% of girls and 68.5% of boys received the HPV vaccine in Year 8.

Dr Alasdair Wood, Consultant in Health Protection and Vaccine Preventable Disease Lead at UKHSA South West, said: "The HPV vaccine saves thousands of lives each year. Vaccination rates are still well below pre-pandemic levels, and around 1 in 4 young people in the South West are still leaving school unprotected against these cancers.

"I would urge any parent whose child has missed their HPV vaccine not to wait, speak to your GP or local NHS service today."

HPV (Human papillomavirus) is a common virus that anyone can get. The body usually clears it, but sometimes it can cause cancer. The HPV vaccine helps to protect against nine high-risk strains of HPV, which can cause some cancers, including cervical, anal, penile, vulval, vaginal and some head and neck cancers.

The NHS in the South West aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. A main goal is raising HPV vaccination rates to 90% for girls and boys by 2030. HPV is linked to over 90% of cervical cancers in England; however, the NHS HPV vaccine programme in England has been shown to have dramatically lowered HPV infections and rates of cervical cancer.

Children who may have missed their HPV vaccination at school can catch up by contacting their school-based vaccination team. Catch-up vaccinations are also available free on the NHS for girls aged 24 and under up to their 25th birthday, and for boys born after 1 September 2006 up to their 25th birthday.