As part of the Danish childhood vaccination programme, girls aged around 12 years are offered HPV vaccine. In future, girls of this age only need two doses of HPV vaccine, compared with three previously.
The change of the vaccination programme is the result of new scientific studies showing that the antibody responses after two doses of HPV vaccine six months apart for girls aged 9-13 years are just as good as after three doses as in the previous programme. The European Medicines Agency has authorised the change.
The change came into force on 6 August 2014 when the Danish Health and Medicines Authority sent a letter to all general practitioners about the new programme and issued a revised publication about the childhood vaccination programme.
There are no changes to the HPV vaccine used, but from 6 August 2014 the following changes are made to the administration of the vaccine:
- Girls who, under the previous programme, have been given the second dose less than six months after the first dose, are still recommended to have the third dose.
- In future, girls who are given the first dose before the age of 14 should only have two doses, provided that the second dose is given at least six months after the first dose.
- Girls who start the programme after the age of 14 are still recommended to have three doses.
Regardless of which programme is followed, it is recommended to have the injections over a period of around one year.
We still recommend that the vaccine is given to girls before they start being sexually active to obtain the best protection against cervical cancer. Consequently, the Danish childhood vaccination programme offers the HPV vaccine to girls aged around 12 years. However, the HPV vaccination is free of charge for girls under the age of 18.
Read more about the change of vaccine doses in the summary of product characteristics for the HPV vaccine on the European Medicines Agency's website