HPV vaccinations should be made available to adolescent boys as well as girls, the HPV Action coalition has said.
The HPV Action coalition is made up of 44 organisations, including the British Dental Association (BDA), and is fighting for the UK vaccination programme to offer gender-neutral vaccinations for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
HPV can cause numerous diseases, including oral cancer, and has been found to be the cause of 5% of all cancer cases, leading the BDA to call on the dental profession to support HPV Action’s calls.
‘Dentists are on the front line in the battle against oral cancer,’ Russ Ladwa, chair of the BDA’s Health and Science Committee, said.
‘The condition is now the 10th most common cancer among men and the government can and should be doing more to prevent the condition.
‘The failure to provide a gender neutral programme is unfair to boys and is costing lives.
‘It’s vital health professionals speak with one voice on this life and death issue.’
European Immunisation Week
The BDA is asking members to join HPV Action’s Thunderclap, to mark European Immunisation Week (24-30 April).
The online platform enables campaigners to rally people together to send a common message on social media.
‘We ask all colleagues to help by supporting this Thunderclap, so we continue building momentum behind this vital campaign,’ Russ Ladwa concluded.
