High street chemists are charging up to £475 to vaccinate teenage boys against cancer-causing HPV viruses, as free jabs are only available for teenage girls.

Boys aged 12 or 13 will be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) for free from September – more than 10 years after girls of the same age started receiving it.

An estimated two million older boys will miss out on the vaccination programme.

The NHS put in place a temporary “catch-up” programme when the vaccine was first rolled out to Year 8 girls in 2008, meaning it was also offered to any girl up to the age of 18.

The Department of Health and Social Care has not introduced a similar catch-up scheme for boys, which means even 13-year-olds in Year 9 will not receive the injections.

Researchers in Scotland say the routine HPV vaccination of girls aged 12 to 13 has caused a dramatic reduction in cancer rates, almost wiping out all cases of cervical pre-cancer in young women.

Chemists are charging hundreds of pounds for vaccinations ahead of an expected rush from parents wanting their sons to have the jabs.

Boots charges £165 each for the two rounds of injections needed by 12 to 14-year-olds, while the three courses required by 15 to 44-year-olds costs £475.

Superdrug charges £150 per injection and Lloyds Pharmacy charges £429 for three jabs.

The Royal Free London NHS hospital charges £170 per dose to private patients, meaning it would cost £510 for three injections.

Peter Baker of the HPV Action charity has said the the costs mean many parents are priced out of getting their sons vaccinated.

The injections reportedly have an official NHS price listing of between £80 and £105 per jab, although the government is said to have negotiated a substantial discount.

HPV is the name of a very common group of viruses.

There are more than 100 types and most do not cause problems, but some can cause genital warts or cancer.

Most types of HPV affect the mouth, throat or genital area and are easy to catch.

It can be caught by any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area, as well as vaginal, anal or oral sex.

The vaccine is given to girls in their early teens to establish an immune response before they became sexually active.

Experts estimate HPV causes around 2,500 cases of cancer in men each year and about 650 deaths.

Girls have been vaccinated against HPV to ward off cervical cancer for more than a decade, in a step that is thought to have saved 500 lives a year.

Boys were initially not included in the vaccination programme, but the government changed course earlier this year after advice from the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The HPV vaccine has significantly reduced HPV in young women and by reducing the spread of strains will mean fewer cancer diagnoses in years to come.

“So it’s right the vaccine will be available for boys, preventing even more cancers and saving more lives.

“Parents should be reassured that advice from experts is that a catch-up programme for older boys is not necessary, as they will continue to benefit greatly from the indirect protection – built up from 10 years of the girls’ successful vaccination programme.”

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