Immunisation Horizon Scanning Volume 6 Issue 3

UK experts back meningitis B jab

Source: BBC News

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Date of publication: March 2014

Publication Type: News

In a nutshell: A vaccine that protects against a deadly form of meningitis is set to be introduced in the UK. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has recommended the move to the government, had said last year that the jab was not cost-effective. Meningitis charities said more data had led to today’s decision, and it was a “wonderful outcome”.

Length of publication: 1-page news story

Does the HPV vaccination programme have implications for cervical screening programmes in the UK?

Source: Vaccine, 32 (16), pp. 1828–1833

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Date of publication: April 2014

Publication Type: Article

In a nutshell: In the UK, a national HPV immunisation programme was implemented in 2008 for girls aged 12–13 years. In addition a catch-up programme was implemented for older girls up to 18 years of age from 2009 to 2011, with an uptake rate of 49.4%. Information about future uptake of cervical screening according to vaccination statistics is important in order to understand the impact of the vaccination programme and implications for a national cervical screening programme. We analysed data on a cohort of women who had been offered the HPV vaccine in the catch-up programme and were invited for cervical screening between 2010 and 2012 in Wales (n = 30,882), in a record-linked database study, to describe the cervical screening uptake and clinical outcome according to HPV vaccination status. In our cohort, 48.5% (n = 14,966) women had had HPV vaccination and 45.9% (n = 14,164) women attended for cervical screening. Women who were unvaccinated were less likely to attend cervical screening (adjusted OR 0.58; 95% CI (0.55, 0.61)). Of those who attended for screening, 13.9% of vaccinated women had abnormal cytology reported compared to 16.7% of women who were unvaccinated. Women who lived in areas with high levels of social deprivation were less likely to be vaccinated (Quintile 5 OR 0.48 95% CI (0.45, 0.52)) or attend cervical screening (Quintile 5 OR 0.70; 95% CI (0.65, 0.75)) compared to those who lived in the least deprived areas. These data highlight the need for new strategies to address inequalities in cervical screening uptake and can inform further mathematical modelling work to clarify the impact of the HPV vaccination programme on future cervical cancer incidence.

Length of publication: 5-page article

Childhood vaccination coverage by ethnicity within London between 2006/2007 and 2010/2011

Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2014; 99: 348-353

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Date of publication: April 2014

Publication Type: Article

In a nutshell: Objectives To assess childhood vaccination coverage at first, second and fifth birthdays by ethnicity in London between 2006/2007 and 2010/2011 and identify factors relating to lower coverage. Design Data concerning receipt of diphtheria-containing vaccines were extracted from child health information systems (CHISs) and sent to the Health Protection Agency. Setting Nine London Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Participants Records for 315 381 children born April 2001–March 2010. Main outcome measures Receipt of a full primary course of diphtheria-containing vaccines at first and second birthdays, and a primary course and preschool booster at fifth birthday. Results Consistently good vaccine coverage of the primary course (>88% at first birthday, >89% at second birthday) was achieved across the five largest ethnic groups. Coverage of the preschool booster at fifth birthday was >65% across the five largest ethnic groups. Lowest coverage was observed in smaller ethnic groups. Deprivation was not a strong indicator of coverage overall, and for most ethnic groups there was no relationship between deprivation and coverage. Coverage was significantly lower in children not assigned to a general practitioner practice in the CHIS. Conclusions Smaller, less well-established ethnic groups within a PCT may require specific targeting to ensure children are fully immunised and to improve record keeping. Unregistered children need particular attention and may be missed by current scheduling processes in London. In order to monitor the impact of the current National Health Service (NHS) reorganisation on inequalities in access to healthcare data on country of birth, in addition to ethnicity, should be available for analysis.

Length of publication: 5-page article

HPV vaccination: preventing more cancers in future generations

Source: Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23 (7-8), pp. 909–910.

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Date of publication: April 2014

Publication Type: Editorial

In a nutshell: Introduction: Cancer prevention initiatives have usually been directed towards the adult population. Smoking cessation, breast awareness, sun avoidance, faecal occult blood testing and health advice on food labels are examples of programmes aimed at encouraging individuals to be more in control of their own health, including cancer risk reduction… There now exist opportunities to influence health policy debates about HPV vaccination across the globe. This is linked with the need to ensure that sexual health, in its widest sense, is seen as a topic that remains relevant to nursing to be involved in to help deal with preventable infections, such as HPV, that can have such a negative impact on people’s lives.

Length of publication: 2 pages

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