PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 659 - 4 Aug 2012

vaccination. High vaccine cost and concerns aboutHPV vaccine delivery strategyvaccine effectiveness and duration of protection weredepends on country the main barriers to acceptance. This finding moved theresearchers to also advocate the use of public educationThree studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinecampaigns to raise awareness of the consequences ofuptake in different countries indicate the requirementHPV infection and the benefits of vaccination.for different vaccine delivery methods in different1. Hayashi Y, et al. High HPV vaccination uptake rates for adolescent girls afterhealthcare settings and highlight the potential for

regional governmental funding in Shiki City, Japan. Vaccine : 26 Jun 2012.research into uptake rates and acceptance to influenceAvailable from: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.06.038.

national vaccination policy. 2. Watson-Jones D, et al. HPV vaccination in Tanzanian schoolgirls: cluster-randomised trial comparing two vaccine delivery strategies. Journal of InfectiousClinic provision adopted in Japan Diseases : 18 Jun 2012. Available from: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jis407.In the absence of a compulsory school-based

3. Choi H, et al. Acceptance of HPV vaccines among Hong Kong femalevaccination programme and government funding for adolescents and mothers. 15th International Congress on Infectious Diseases :abstr. ISE.247, 13 Jun 2012. Available from: URL: http://www.xcdsystem.com/HPV vaccination in Japan, one forward-thinkingicid%5fise2012/ISE.247.html.Japanese city introduced regionally-funded clinic-based

801130933HPV vaccination, using the bivalent vaccine, free-of-charge for adolescent girls and supported it with aneducational campaign and invitation letters.1

Researchers involved in the initiative reported thatuptake rates of 64.8%, 62.7% and 48.2% were achievedfor doses 1, 2 and 3, respectively, in 1254 girls aged11–15 years who presented for vaccination, with ratesbeing highest in girls aged 14–15 years (81.0–90.7%).The high uptake rates of the regional initiative resulted inthe subsequent launch (from 2011) of a nationwideclinic-based HPV vaccination programme, jointly fundedby national and regional governments. The researchersattributed the success of the trail-blazing regionalprogramme primarily to the step-by-step strategy usedto obtain consensus among the relevant stake-holders.

School provision underway in TanzaniaHigh uptake rates in a cluster-randomised study that

compared two different methods of school-based HPVvaccination in northwest Tanzania supported theinclusion of HPV vaccination in Tanzania’s nationalimmunisation programme, according to the authors ofthe study.2

A total of 5532 girls were enrolled from 134 schoolsthat were randomly allocated to either class-based orage-based delivery using the quadrivalent HPV vaccine.Overall vaccine uptake rates were 84.7%, 81.4% and76.1% for doses 1, 2 and 3, respectively, with higheruptake rates achieved for class-based than for age-basedvaccine delivery (86.4 vs 82.0% for dose 1; 83.8% vs77.8% for dose 2; 78.7% vs 72.1% for dose 3). Based ontheir estimate that population coverage was 65–70% forthe age-based and > 70% for the class-based delivery,the researchers concluded that class-based delivery wasthe superior delivery method. HPV vaccination will berolled out via primary school provision as part of thenational immunisation programme from 2012.

Screening-programme provision proposed inHong Kong

Chinese researchers, who identified low uptake andacceptance of HPV vaccination among females in HongKong, have recommended that HPV vaccination shouldbe integrated into the current national cervical screeningprogramme.3

The researchers conducted telephone interviews withmothers of daughters aged ≤ 18 years and recruited girlsfrom secondary schools to complete a self-administeredquestionnaire. Of the 1022 mothers interviewed, 27%said that they were willing to vaccinate their daughtersand, of the 2252 girls who completed the questionnaire,6% had been vaccinated and 27% of those not yetimmunised said they were willing to receive HPV

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