HPV vaccine - age and gender?

[Hathor]

I am not clear about why there is an age limit on the HPV vaccine for girls. Surely there must be a lot of older girls who will not have been infected with the particular types of HPV it protects against? Can they get a test and a vaccine?

And why not also vaccinate the boys and try to get rid of HPV infection altogether?

Anyone know?

I think every 12-13 year old is offered it, and there's a catch up programme which has been introduced offering it to all girls aged between 13 and 18 over the next two years. The vaccine is very expensive, which i guess is why its not being offered to boys too.

There isn't an age limit, it's just that the initial wave was to catch the younger girls who were def clear, and then the older ones after. You can see the schedule here

There is a good argument for vaccinating boys, both to reduce HPV transmission to girls, and to protect them should they have sex with men - HPV is also associated with anal cancer. But, rather like rubella, they are concentrating on the highest risk group first