Cervical cancer jabs for 12-year-olds

Hollie Anderson, who was 13 at the time, said: "When we heard [the vaccine] was coming out in England I asked mum if I could have it. I think it's better to be safe. All my friends are asking their parents if they can have it."

Hollie, from Enfield, was speaking as the Government announced that all girls aged 12 will be vaccinated from next September against the human papilloma virus which causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers.

Hollie's mother, Lisa, paid £450 last October for her to have the Gardasil jab privately after seeing her own mother battle against cancer.

Mrs Anderson, a child psychologist, said: "Every mother and every daughter should have this vaccine. I've seen how awful the disease can be. I saw it as my role to protect Hollie."

She signed up Hollie, who is now 14, and attends Immanuel College in Bushey, for the three injections after her own mother, Shirley Hart, was given the all-clear by doctors.

Mrs Anderson said: "When we found out from our doctor that these injections were becoming available it wasn't a difficult choice to make. I asked Hollie and she said she wanted it. It was her decision. Afterwards she said, 'Thank you mum, I know you're protecting me against a disease'."

The Government's £100million immunisation programme will revolutionise the battle against the disease, which kills more than 1,000 women in Britain a year. Girls in their second year of secondary school - aged 12 and 13 - will get the vaccination first. But a two-year "catch-up" campaign for older girls will start in autumn 2009.

Campaigners say that ministers have dragged their feet as mass immunisation already happens in France, Germany, America and Australia.

But the issue of vaccinating young girls against HPV is controversial because the virus is primarily spread through sexual contact.

Other campaigners have claimed the programme could encourage promiscuity.

Today's move comes after figures showed one in 10 girls has picked up HPV by the age of 16, and a "substantial risk" that many have it at 14. The vaccine only works if it is administered before girls become sexually active.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said the scheme could save 400 lives a year. "As a society we need to do more to prevent disease and not just treat it," he said.

The Government is acting on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommending that the jab is incorporated into the vaccination programme.

Professor David Salisbury, director of immunisation, said: "The benefits will be felt by women and their families for generations to come."

The vaccine will be given in three doses over six months, with the catch-up campaign targeting 16- to 18-year-olds from 2009 and 15- to 17-year-olds from 2010.

Health minister Ann Keen today said it was decided not to make the vaccine compulsory because it would be too "difficult".

But she told GMTV: "I can't see why anybody wouldn't want their child to have this vaccination."

The Department of Health will now consider evidence on whether women aged 18 to 25 should be vaccinated.

More than 2,700 British women a year are diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 200,000 also have pre-cancerous changes picked up through smear tests.