HPV Awareness Day: Making protection equal for everyone

In our latest blog, we’re shining a spotlight on HPV Awareness Day and the importance of protecting everyone from HPV‑related diseases. With insights from the Throat Cancer Foundation, we explore what HPV is, why prevention matters and what more can be done to ensure equal access to life‑saving vaccination and screening. Read on to learn how we can work together to reduce preventable cancers and create a healthier future for all.

Understanding HPV and why it matters

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common viruses in the world. Almost everyone will pick it up without ever knowing it, often before the age of 25.

HPV lives in the skin and the linings of the body and spreads easily through intimate skin‑to‑skin contact, including sexual activity. In most cases the body clears the infection naturally, but sometimes HPV can persist, and that’s when it can cause health problems.

There are more than 200 types of HPV. Most cause no harm. Some cause genital warts, which are not dangerous but can be upsetting and uncomfortable. A small number of ‘high‑risk’ HPV types can cause cancer if the infection doesn’t clear.

While cervical cancer is the most widely recognised HPV‑related cancer, the virus can also cause anal, vulval, vaginal, penile and oropharyngeal (head and neck) cancers. Notably, more than half of cancers of the tonsils and base of the tongue are caused by HPV, and these cancers are more common in men. HPV is not just a women’s health issue – it affects everyone.

Gordon Dow, Trustee of the Throat Cancer Foundation says:

“Throat cancer can be life-changing, affecting speech, swallowing and identity – which is why prevention matters so much. HPV vaccination is one of the clearest opportunities we have to reduce that burden.”

Why prevention is key

The HPV vaccine provides long‑lasting protection against the high‑risk HPV types that cause cancer, as well as those that cause genital warts. In Scotland, the vaccine is routinely offered in S1, giving young people protection before they are exposed to the virus. Since 2019, the vaccine has been offered to boys as well as girls, creating fairer protection for everyone and strengthening immunity across communities.

Scotland’s HPV vaccination programme is already making a difference. Vaccinated groups are seeing fewer HPV infections and early signs of reduced disease – clear evidence that the programme is preventing cancers before they start. But not everyone is benefitting equally. Since young boys joined the vaccination programme, uptake has consistently been lower for boys than girls. This gap matters. HPV does not discriminate, and men are susceptible to infection throughout life, with a greater vulnerability to HPV‑related cancers as they get older. When boys are vaccinated, they not only protect themselves, but also their future partners and help strengthen wider population protection.

Young people in more deprived communities are also less likely to receive the HPV vaccine, despite being more likely to experience HPV-related cancers. When vaccination uptake is lower in communities already facing greater health burdens, it creates future pockets of preventable disease, deaths and disadvantage.

For women*, cervical screening remains essential, even after vaccination, because the vaccine does not protect against every cancer‑causing HPV type. High, equitable uptake of both vaccination and screening offers the strongest possible defence against cervical cancer and other HPV‑related diseases.

Protecting everyone: fair and equal access to HPV vaccine

HPV Awareness Day reminds us that real progress is being made. But it also highlights that progress is not yet equal across all groups. The HPV vaccine remains the most simple and effective way to protect young people from the risk of HPV.

For anyone who didn’t get the HPV vaccine at school, whether because of illness, absence or disruption during the COVID‑19 pandemic, you may still be able to get it up to your 25th birthday. Your local NHS immunisation team can help you get vaccinated in your area.

HPV affects all of us. By improving vaccination and screening uptake across every community, we can reduce preventable cancers and create a fairer, healthier future for everyone. One less worry – for life.

Further information

The HPV Cancers Alliance supports the ‘One Less Worry’ campaign

More information on the HPV vaccine is available on NHS inform

More information on cervical screening is available on NHS inform

Read more about the latest HPV immunisation statistics in Scotland

*And anyone with a cervix