90% of schoolgirls get cervical cancer jag

Published on Friday 27 March 2009 09:01

MORE than nine out of ten schoolgirls in Lothian have already received their first dose of the cervical cancer vaccine.

The HPV vaccine is being offered to girls aged 12-17 in Scotland's first ever mass anti-cancer immunisation programme.

The three-stage jags guard against the virus that causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers.

Official statistics released yesterday show that since the programme's launch last September, 93.2 per cent of the 10,348 Lothian girls eligible for the jags have received their first dose, while 89.1 per cent have had their second.

Both figures are slightly above the national average of 92.2 per cent for the first dose and 87.8 per cent for the second.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said: "These results are a testament to the hard work of health boards, particularly frontline nursing staff."

Visiting an immunisation clinic at Edinburgh's Broughton High School, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Harry Burns said: "These uptake statistics are hugely encouraging."