Every girl in the UK aged 12 and 13 will be offered a vaccination to help protect them from developing cervical cancer, it was announced today.

The injections, to be rolled out by the Government from the start of the next school year, will protect the girls from human papillomavirus, known as HPV, which causes around 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Cervical cancer kills more than 1,000 women each year, many of whom had contracted the sexually transmitted infection HPV. By vaccinating children before they become sexually active it is hoped that 400 lives will be saved every year.

The vaccine will most likely be given in three doses at school over a six-month period.

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Many doctors also believe that, despite the increased expense, boys and men should be vaccinated

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Today’s announcement, which will be welcomed by campaigners and cancer charities, comes after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that the jab be incorporated into the vaccination programme.

Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, said: “As a society we need to do more to prevent disease and not just treat it.

“Now more than ever before we need to make the NHS a service that prevents ill health and prioritises keeping people well.

“This means a shift in focus from a sickness service to a wellbeing service.”

The jab programme will cost up to £100 million a year. There will also be an initial £200 million catch-up scheme to ensure that teenagers who have just missed the introduction of the scheme will be protected by 2010.

Girls aged 16 to 18 years will be offered the vaccine from autumn 2009 and then from the following year those between 15 and 17 will be eligible.

Professor David Salisbury, director of immunisation, said: “The benefits of introducing this vaccine into the national immunisation programme will be felt by women and their families for generations to come.

“We will work closely with PCTs to ensure the success of this ambitious programme that combines routine and catch-up immunisation and we will consult with all groups who may play a part.”

Each year, more than 2,700 British women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and around 200,000 women a year also have pre-cancerous changes to their cervix picked up through smear test.

Some experts had also been calling for boys to get the jab because they can pass HPV on to unvaccinated partners.

But, under today’s announcement, boys will not be vaccinated after the JCVI said it was not cost effective.

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