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Young people across the East of England have helped shape a new NHS campaign explaining the range of school vaccinations, which launches ahead of HPV Awareness Day on Wednesday (4 March).

The East of England Community and School Aged Immunisation Service (CSAIS), supported by NHS England, has worked directly with children, young people, schools and frontline clinicians to co-design a new set of youth-friendly vaccination materials. The project aims to improve understanding, build trust and increase uptake of key school-age vaccines, including HPV, MenACWY, Td/IPV and MMR.

School-age vaccinations protect young people against serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. They include the vaccine against HPV (Human Papillomavirus), which is offered in secondary school to help prevent several cancers, including cervical cancer, as well as other HPV-related cancers in both men and women. Other vaccines are MenACWY, which protects against four types of meningococcal disease that can cause meningitis and sepsis; Td/IPV which is a booster protecting against tetanus, diphtheria and polio; and MMR, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, and is offered as a catch-up to those who may have missed doses earlier in life

Despite the importance of these vaccines, national and local data show that uptake is lower than it should be in some communities, contributing to health inequalities.

Caroline Shepherd, Assistant Director for School and Community Vaccinations at CSAIS said: “The focus groups we held with pupils in years 8 to 11 from across the East of England revealed that many young people and families had limited awareness and understanding of school-age vaccines, and they felt the existing information was “boring”, “too wordy” and “hard to understand”.

“We wanted to address this issue and so we created a suite of resources which includes videos, posters and social media assets, shaped directly by young people’s feedback. These resources are visual and interactive, and aim to clearly explain what the vaccines are for and the potential side effects.

“Our hope is that this campaign will reduce confusion and improve conversations between children and parents, children and teachers or among children themselves about vaccination and support more informed decision-making, especially in the lead-up to HPV Awareness Day.”

Barbara Hamill, Immunisation Manager for Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes said: “The campaign has been designed to highlight the importance of being protected against HPV, as well as the other vaccinations included in the teenage immunisation programme. HPV Awareness Day and the launch of the new campaign will emphasise how important it is to come forward for these vaccinations and how simple it is to stay protected.”

The materials have been developed using an inclusive design approach and translated into the most commonly spoken languages across the East of England, helping to make vaccination information more accessible to families whose first language is not English.

The project involved CSAIS teams across Hertfordshire and West Essex, Cambridge, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk, alongside education providers who hosted engagement sessions.

HPV Awareness Day is held annually on 4 March and aims to inform and educate the public about HPV, reduce stigma and inspire individuals to get vaccinated and screened, if possible.