Overview
- A Lancet analysis published in mid-June found that between 2020 and 2024 no women aged 20 to 24 in England died of cervical cancer, a milestone the researchers link to the national HPV vaccination programme.
- Researchers from Queen Mary University and Cancer Research UK estimate the programme has already prevented nearly 200 cervical cancer deaths and say vaccinated girls given the jab at age 12–13 face almost zero risk of dying from the disease before age 30.
- Uptake has fallen since the COVID pandemic and now sits below the World Health Organization’s 90% vaccination target, with recent school‑year coverage figures showing large gaps in some areas and London among the lowest.
- Experts warn that sustaining and equalising high vaccine coverage, alongside continued cervical screening, is required to preserve the mortality gains because the vaccine does not protect against every cancer-causing HPV type.
- Public‑health groups say the English results bolster the WHO elimination strategy and underline the need to expand vaccine access in low and middle‑income countries where most cervical cancer deaths still occur.