HPV vaccine prevents 200 deaths in England so far, study estimates

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By Jane Kirby, PA Media

Around 200 lives in England have been saved so far thanks to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer, data suggests.

A study funded by Cancer Research UK and led by Queen Mary University of London estimated that children vaccinated at age 12–13 have close to zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30.

Between 2020 and 2024, there were no deaths from cervical cancer in women aged 20 to 24 in England for the first time.

The study, published in The Lancet, also found that from 2015-19 there was an 80% reduction in cervical cancer deaths among women aged 20-24.

The vaccine was introduced for girls in 2008 and 2019 for boys. However, despite progress towards eliminating cervical cancer, experts are worried about falling vaccination rates.

In England from 2024-2025, 71.7% of girls were vaccinated in Year 8 as were 67% of boys. By Year 10, this reached 75.5% in girls and 70.5% in boys, but it was below the World Health Organization target of 90% for girls and lower than the previous year.