The Scottish Government has confirmed it will inoculate boys aged 12 and 13 from the HPV virus in the next school year.
The vaccine, which has been administered to girls in schools across the UK since 2008 as part of efforts to cut cervical cancer rates, will now be given to all boys and those without a cervix in schools for the first time.
A similar proposal will come into effect in England and Wales from September, at the start of the academic term.
It is hoped in doing so, the number of cervicl cancer diagnoses and incidences of the human papilloma virus (HPV) will be cut drastically.
By vaccinating boys, experts say spreading of the disease — linked with the cancer — will dramatically reduce.
Estimates from the University of Warwick suggest the vaccine, which protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV), will prevent 64,138 cervical cancers and 49,649 non-cervical cancers in the UK by 2058.
This will include 3,433 cases of penile cancer and 21,395 cases of head and neck cancer, such as throat cancer, in men.
Giving boys the jab also protects girls from HPV, which is passed on through sexual contact.
HPV causes 99% of cervical cancers as well as 90% of anal, about 70% of vaginal and vulvar cancers and more than 60% of penile cancers in the UK.
A study conducted in Scotland showed pre-cancerous cervical disease had been slashed by 71% since the introduction of the vaccine in 2008.
There will not be a catch-up programme for boys aged between 13 to 18, unlike the one undertaken for girls when the initiative was first introduced.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The HPV vaccination programme for adolescent boys will begin in the new academic year, 2019-20. This follows the recommendation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
“We now know HPV can be the cause of several other cancers as well as cervical and getting eligible people vaccinated will save lives in years to come.”
