Why 150,000 schoolchildren missed a cancer-preventing vaccine last year

The jab is offered to girls and boys aged 11 to 13 to prevent mouth, anal, cervical and penile tumours, but uptake plunged due to school closures during Covid

Hundreds of thousands of people considered at risk from Covid-19 are yet to get a booster (Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire)

Almost 150,000 schoolchildren went without a single dose of the HPV vaccine last year, leaving them at risk of life-threatening cancers.

The jab is offered to girls and boys aged 11 to 13 to prevent mouth, anal, cervical and penile tumours.

Government figures show 147,337 pupils were left completely unprotected. Uptake plunged due to school closures during the pandemic.

Two dose coverage also fell by 23 per cent across the UK compared with pre-Covid levels.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation, described the crisis as “extremely concerning”.

He said: “HPV is a leading cause of mouth cancer, which claims the lives of eight people every day and having the vaccination is the best form of protection against it.

“Lower school attendance over the last two years has meant that thousands of children have not been granted the same protection as in previous years.”

He added: “This is unfair and unjust. We must not allow these children to slip through the gaps. It is now the responsibility of all local school immunisation teams to make sure children who missed the vaccine during the pandemic are allowed to receive it.

“Likewise, provisions must be in place to meet the needs of this year’s batch of children who are eligible for the vaccine.”

Home learning, in addition to increasing numbers of children being off school in isolation, have led to severe disruption for the NHS programme.

HPV is transmitted through sexual activity. Four-in-five (80%) unvaccinated adults will pick it up at some point in their life.

For most, it causes no symptoms and people will not know they have it. But in some, it develops into cancer. It can also cause genital warts.

HPV (human papillomavirus) is linked to five percent of all cancers. Cases of mouth cancer in the UK have soared by a third in the last decade. Rates have more than doubled within the last generation.

Yet awareness remains poor. Almost half (47 per cent) of adults have not heard of HPV. Of those who have, four-in-10 (41 per cent) do not know there is a vaccination.

Catherine Tannahill, a director of Portman Dental Care, said: “The number of people being diagnosed with mouth cancer continues to grow at a frightening rate.

“As dentists, we see first-hand the impact mouth cancer can have, but we can play a pivotal role in the detection of mouth cancer.

“Dentists will always check for signs of the disease during any routine appointment, so no one should ever be worried about visiting their dentist.

“That’s why during Mouth Cancer Action Month we also want to ensure people are aware of what the signs and symptoms are, what to do if they spot an issue themselves and what steps they can take to reduce the risk of developing mouth cancer.”

Almost two-in-three (62 per cent) people have never checked for signs of mouth cancer. Only one in five (19 per cent) look for early warning signs at least once a month.

Parents are being urged to learn more about HPV, investigate the vaccine and give consent for their children to have it at school.

Dr Tannahill said: “Early diagnosis of mouth cancer leads to a 90 per cent survival rate, which is why it is essential that people visit their dentist for regular examinations, check for common signs of mouth cancer at least once a month, and, if they are concerned, seek advice from a healthcare professional as soon as possible if you have any concerns.

“But the HPV vaccine could be a significant weapon in the fight against mouth cancer. It is an incredible privilege to have this vaccine at our disposal against a virus that causes cancer. The HPV vaccine is extremely safe and effective, and I’d encourage all parents to consider allowing their child to receive it.”

Mouth cancer can have a debilitating impact on a person’s quality of life. It often affects how they can breathe, swallow, drink and eat.

Speech may also be impacted, and occasionally even lost while facial disfigurement can also occur. This can lead to other problems such as nutritional deficiency, and depression.

It is advised people get the HPV vaccination before they become sexually active. It is administered free of charge as an injection in the upper arm

Mother of five Rachel Parsons, 48, was diagnosed with suspected HPV cancer after noticing a lump in her mouth.

She said: “I had several recurring mouth ulcers and the lump had got worse. My mum was then reading an article in a magazine about mouth cancer, and she pleaded with me to the doctors. They instantly referred me for an urgent biopsy.

“I remember being sat at home the night before I got the results thinking ‘I’ve got cancer’. In my head, I saw what was going to happen, where I was going to sit, what the consultant would say to me, everything.

“My eldest son asked me why I was up so early, and I replied ‘because I might have cancer. Sure enough, the next day was a massive de Ja Vu. I had cancer.”

All her children have received the HPV vaccination. Rachel wouldn’t want anyone to go through the same thing.

She said: “I think personally what made me want the jabs is the fact my daughter was already vaccinated and the increase of head and neck cancers and HPV.

“I wanted my boy vaccinated so he would have the same protection. I didn’t want either of them to go through what I had to go through.

“People think it is an STD (sexually transmitted disease) but you can’t always get it through sex. It’s not about sleeping with a lot of people. It can just stay dormant for years. You must explain what it really is.

“Young people can be more vulnerable but its not always contracted through sex by being promiscuous.

“Vaccines are important, Covid and HPV vaccines are the same, a must for you to be safe. If anyone has the opportunity to get it, they should go for it. No one should go through what I did.”