No cervical cancer deaths recorded in England among women aged 20-24 from 2020-2024, but HPV vaccine uptake has fallen since COVID

No women aged 20 to 24 in England died of cervical cancer between 2020 and 2024, according to data examined in a study published in The Lancet. Historically, researchers expected approximately 23 deaths from the disease in that age group over a five-year period. The same study recorded fewer deaths than expected among women aged 25 to 29 during the same years.

Around 90 per cent of women in England now aged 20–24 received the HPV vaccine when they were 12 or 13. Peter Sasieni of Queen Mary University of London, who co-authored the study with Milena Falcaro, stated the outcome is almost certainly due to vaccination coverage. Sasieni and Falcaro estimate that approximately 200 cervical-cancer deaths have already been prevented in England.

Sasieni described the figure as only the beginning of the vaccine’s effect. “The results are stunning,” Sasieni said. ” The study examined the most recent data available through 2024. Caroline Temmink, director of vaccination for NHS England, said the findings demonstrate the vaccine’s life-saving effect.

“This hugely encouraging news shows the life-saving impact of the HPV vaccine, and it’s incredibly exciting to be able to say to this whole generation: cervical cancer and some other cancers shouldn’t be a risk for you,” Temmink stated. She added that HPV vaccination remains central to the NHS goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040. The first HPV vaccine became available in 2006.

In the UK, vaccination has been offered to girls aged 12 or 13 since 2008 and to boys since 2019. Sasieni noted that vaccine uptake has fallen since the covid period. He said lower coverage among current teenagers could lead to rising death rates in the UK in the future.