Effectiveness of school‐based and high‐risk human papillomavirus vaccination programs against cervical dysplasia in Manitoba, Canada

The effectiveness of a vaccination program is influenced by its design and implementation details and by the target population characteristics. Using routinely collected population‐based individual‐level data, we assessed the effectiveness (against cervical dysplasia) of Manitoba's quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) routine school‐based vaccination program and a short‐lived campaign that targeted women at high‐risk of developing cervical cancer.

Females ≥9 years old who received the qHPV vaccine in Manitoba (Canada) between September 1, 2006, and March 31, 2013 (N=31,442) were matched on age and area of residence to up to three non‐vaccinated females. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate qHPV VE against high‐grade (HSILs) and low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs) and atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS).

Among 14 to 17‐year‐old participants who had Pap cytology after enrollment, the adjusted qHPV VE estimates were 30% (17‐58%) and 36% (21‐48%) against the detection of HSILs and LSILs, respectively. There was, however, no evidence of program effectiveness among females vaccinated at ≥18 years of age and among those with a history of abnormal cytology, who were mostly vaccinated as part of the high‐risk program.

Estimates of VE for females vaccinated in the school‐based program are consistent with the expected benefits from qHPV vaccination. No similar benefits were detected among women vaccinated at an older age, and those with abnormal cytology, who were targeted by the high‐risk program. Further efforts should be targeted at achieving higher vaccine coverage among pre‐adolescents, prior to the initiation of sexual activity.

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