One in four girls having the cervical cancer jab would not tell a boyfriend

One in four girls having the cervical cancer jab would not tell a boyfriend they had been vaccinated, research shows.

One in five (21%) think the vaccine is embarrassing because it is for a sexually-transmitted infection while 14% think they may take more sexual risks in future because they are protected.

Almost one in five girls (19%) also think a boyfriend may expect them to take chances because they have had the jab.

However, 79% of girls said having the vaccination reminds them of the possible risks of sexual contact and 93% think it shows they are serious about their own health.

The survey of more than 500 12 and 13-year-olds was funded by GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the Cervarix vaccine currently used in a national immunisation programme.

The girls, from the Manchester area, were questioned before the vaccine was available nationally.

It is the first survey to focus on girls' views of the vaccine rather than asking their parents for their thoughts.

Almost four in five girls said they discussed the decision to have the vaccine with their parents and, of those girls whose parents refused the vaccine, 42% actually wanted it. However, one in 10 (10%) girls receiving the jab did not want it.

The vaccine protects girls against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes around 70% of cases of cervical cancer.

Each year around 2,800 British women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 1,000 die from the disease.