We have a vaccine that prevents cancer, and one of the biggest fumbles in modern public health was not branding it that way from the start.
Advocates urge parents to vaccinate their children against HPV, which causes 90% of cervical cancers.
HPV vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 80% in women vaccinated by age 16, and aren’t associated with serious side effects, a new report finds.
A large US study finds high rates of infection among younger women, a dip in midlife, and an increase starting at age 70.
Since 2020, the ECDC said all European countries have reported a decreased incidence of cervical cancer among vaccinated women.
The findings support the case for sex-neutral vaccination programs.
Twenty years after the approval of the first HPV vaccines, studies continue to find new benefits.
Initiating the vaccine series at ages 9 to 10 also makes it easier to complete the multi-dose series before adolescence.
Clinics that more often initiated HPV vaccination at age 9 had lower unvaccination rates.
Overall, cervical cancer rates in women ages 20 to 31 fell 27% from 2000-2005 (before the vaccine was approved) to 2016-2021, after the HPV vaccine became available.
