Publish date: 13 October 2025
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance has been working with several partner organisations to co-design and deliver a campaign to promote vaccine take-up amongst groups of men aged under 45 who have sex with men (MSM) and are at higher risk from the human papilloma virus (HPV).
The campaign has been launched under the strapline ‘Small Act, Big Impact’ through the UK’s LGBTQI plus charity, OUTpatients. Learn more about the charity here
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a common virus that is spread through skin contact – usually when having sex. Most types of HPV are harmless but some types are linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer, including
cervical cancer mouth cancer anal cancer penile cancer vulval cancer vaginal cancer
More information about HPV can be found here
HPV vaccines became part of the routine vaccination schedule in 2008 for school-age girls and the programme was extended to include boys in 2019.
A programme for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) was introduced in 2018. This group forms part of what is known as the ‘catch up cohorts’ outlined by NHS England.The campaign is primarily focused on the Bradford locality, where vaccine take-up amongst eligible school age children is significantly lower than in the rest of West Yorkshire.
Following the launch of the campaign's first phase at local Pride events, alongside student freshers’ events and with out-of-home assets over recent weeks, the wider launch took place on Sunday, 12th October 2025.
Learn more about HPV and Small Act, Big Impact by visiting the campaign page on the OUTpatients website here
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