HPV vaccination for girls aged 12-13 years

teenage immunisationIn Scotland, all girls in their second year of secondary school (S2) are routinely invited to receive the HPV vaccine at 12 to 13 years of age.

The vaccine is designed to protect against the two types of HPV that can cause 70% of the cases of cervical cancer. It does not protect against all other types, so regular cervical screening is important.

HPV is very common and you catch it through intimate sexual contact with another person who already has it. Because it is so common, most people will get infected at some point in their lifetime.

In most women the virus does not cause cervical cancer, but having the vaccine is important because we do not know who is at risk. For more information click here.