HPV vaccine

From 2019, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was offered to every pupil in Scotland in the first year of Secondary school (aged approx. 12-13 years) to protect against HPV-related cancers. Prior to this, only girls were offered the vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine offered to young people.

Vaccine uptake and age

In Glasgow, uptake of the first dose of the HPV vaccine was higher among older pupils: 71% of S1 (first year) pupils, vs 93% of S4 (fourth year) pupils. Uptake of the second dose was also higher among older pupils: 59% of S2 (second year) pupils, vs to 87% of S4 pupils. This reflects national trends.

Similar patterning was found across other Scottish cities, but Glasgow City Region had higher vaccine uptake among S2-S4 pupils compared to Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh.

HPV vaccine by residence and school year

Vaccine uptake and gender

There was higher uptake of both doses of the HPV vaccine among girls compared to boys. In Glasgow, 74% of girls in S1, 86% of girls in S2, and 94% of girls in S3 had received the first dose of the HPV vaccine, respectively. Meanwhile, 68% of boys in S1, 81% of boys in S2, and 91% of boys in S3 had received the first dose of the HPV vaccine. This trend is also reflected in national rates.

Uptake of the second dose was lower among boys and girls compared to uptake of the first dose, but uptake did increase with age.

HPV school year and gender

Vaccine uptake and deprivation

There was variation in uptake of the HPV vaccine by deprivation across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (data was not available at a local authority level), which was more pronounced with the second dose.

In S3, 92% of pupils in SIMD 5 (the least deprived quintile) had received their second dose of the HPV vaccine compared to 75% in SIMD 1 (the most deprived quintile). Despite this gap, coverage of the second dose was higher in Glasgow across the quintiles compared to the national average.

HPV vaccine and SIMD

Deprivation was also associated with uptake of the HPV vaccine among S4 female pupils (data was not available for S4 boys) albeit with a smaller inequality gap. In Glasgow, there was a lower uptake of the second dose among SIMD 1 (85%) compared to SIMD 5 (94%).

Notes

Evidence now shows that only one dose of the HPV vaccine is needed to give protection.

There is no target for uptake of HPV immunisation in Scotland, but the expectation is that a coverage of 80% or more should be achieved for routine programme.

This page was updated in May 2024.