Decision on HPV vaccine for boys expected next year

A decision on the cost- effectiveness of offering the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to boys is not expected until September next year, it has emerged.

The deputy chief medical officer at the Department of Health, Dr Colette Bonner, said the Health Information and Quality Authority is conducting a health technology assessment of the vaccine.

Dr Bonner told a meeting of the joint committee on health that the evaluation was a lengthy process and, in the meantime, the focus would be on increasing the uptake of the HPV vaccine in girls.