Interim estimates of human papillomavirus vaccination coverage in the school-based program in Australia

In November 2006, the Australian Government announced the National HPV Vaccination Program, consisting of a course of prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for all Australian females aged 12-26 years. Females aged 12-18 years are vaccinated through school-based programs. The school-based component commenced in April 2007, with the school years targeted varying across jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction maintains comprehensive records of HPV doses delivered in the school-based programs although how this is captured varies. This report presents interim coverage estimates for Year 1 (2007) of the program. Both New South Wales and Victoria achieved coverage of 70% or more among almost all school cohorts vaccinated in the program. Some of the variation in coverage achieved may reflect different levels of experience with school-based programs, and varying methods for school-based vaccine delivery and recording of doses administered. Except for some doses in South Australia, these interim coverage estimates do not include catch-up doses delivered by general practitioners or persons who were vaccinated prior to the onset of the program. Therefore, these data should be considered minimum estimates of coverage. The 1st year of the school-based HPV vaccination program should be considered a success, given time and resource constraints. Public sector immunisation providers across Australia should be commended for planning and implementing a new national immunisation program in approximately 4 months.