New vaccine catch-up campaign launched for Lincolnshire 16-18 year-olds

Run by the NHS in the county, the 16-18 Years Catch Up Campaign is targeted at those who might have missed their school vaccinations, and is being held in colleges, sixth forms and community clinics until the end of March.

“It is widely known that uptake of routine childhood vaccines has been in decline for a number of years now, including the meningitis and HPV vaccines for teenagers, with uptake of all vaccines lower than the recommended 95 per cent coverage needed to reduce transmission,” says Karen Goy, Lead Nurse for Quality and Risk at NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).

“School-based vaccination programmes were severely interrupted during the pandemic, meaning that a considerable number - potentially up to 6,000 - of our 16–18 year-olds missed their chance then to get vaccinated and are missing at least one of the routine teenage vaccinations usually offered in school year 8 or 9.”

Vaccination uptake in Lincolnshire for young people routinely offered the MenACWY vaccine - which helps protect against life-threatening illnesses including meningitis and sepsis - in the 2021-22 school year was just 72 per cent in year 9, compared to 87 per cent in year 9 in the 2018-19 school year.

Similarly, uptake of the HPV vaccine - which helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV), some types of which are linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer - for females in 2021-22 was 66 per cent in year 8, compared to 89 per cent in Year 8 for 2018-19.

“This severe drop off in vaccine uptake is not limited to Lincolnshire, it is a national challenge and one that is causing us great concern, not least of which because we are losing the ground we had made on reducing cases of some potentially life-threatening diseases,” explains Karen.

Since its launch in 2015 in response to a new and particularly virulent strain of meningitis, the MenW strain, the MenACWY vaccine has successfully reduced cases of meningitis across all ages, which, since it can affect anyone at any time but is most common in infants, teenagers, and young people, highlights the importance of these groups getting vaccinated.

“Similarly, since the introduction of the HPV vaccine in 2008, more than 10 million doses have been given in the UK, leading to a reduction in rates of cervical cancer by 90 per cent,” adds Karen. “It is 99 per cent effective and also protects men and women against genital warts, other cancers of the genital areas and anus, as well as some mouth and throat (head and neck) cancers.”

All of which explains why the NHS in Lincolnshire is so keen to see 16-18 year-olds who have missed one or more of their vaccinations, and why it has developed this new catch-up campaign and organised a number of vaccinations sessions over the next couple of months in locations across the county – details can be found on the ICB’s website here.

Alternatively, the vaccination team can be contacted by telephone on 01522 301980 or via email [email protected]

“These vaccination sessions are in addition to those we have already run and continue to run in schools and colleges. Open to all 16–18 year-olds, they do not need to be pre-booked and you can just turn up. Do not worry if you are unsure which vaccines you might need, our teams will be able to talk you through this and answer any queries or concerns you might have.”

Young people are eligible for the MenACWY vaccine until their 25th birthday and the HPV vaccine is available for all girls under 25 years or boys born after September 1, 2006. If you are older than 18, please speak to your GP practice. These vaccines are free on the NHS, and it is never too late to get vaccinated.