Hpv Vaccination For Men Who Have Sex With Men
Men who have sex with men have not benefited in the same way from the longstanding girls’ programme, so may be left unprotected against HPV.
Since April 2018, MSM up to and including 45 years of age have been eligible for free HPV vaccination on the NHS when they visit sexual health clinics and HIV clinics in England.
Ask the doctor or nurse at the clinic for more details.
Why Are The Number Of Doses Reducing From Three To Two For Those Aged 14 And Under
Those vaccinated at a younger age have a stronger immune response to protect against infection. In trials of Gardasil 9, those aged 9 to 14 produced as many antibodies following two doses of the vaccine as those aged 15 and over following three doses.
The vaccine is recommended and provided through schools at age 1112 because it is more effective when it is given at this age.
How Safe Is The Vaccine
The first HPV vaccines were approved in 2006, following large clinical trials involving more than 20,000 people. Since then, research covering hundreds of thousands of vaccinations shows a similar safety profile to other childhood vaccines. The safety data for Gardasil 9 is consistent with the HPV4 safety studies.All applications seeking consent to distribute a medicine in New Zealand are evaluated by Medsafe. This evaluation is performed to internationally defined standards and requirements. Gardasil 9 was evaluated by Medsafe and approved in 2016. Gardasil 9 is also approved in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, as in other countries, there is ongoing monitoring of vaccine safety. The reactions reported from Gardasil 9 are similar to other immunisations. The most common reactions are injection site pain, redness, and swelling. Nausea and fainting have also been reported. The only known severe reaction is a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, which usually occurs within minutes of the immunisation being given. Anaphylaxis is rare about three anaphylactic reactions per 1 million doses of vaccine administered. Every vaccinator is trained and equipped to deal with an anaphylactic reaction if one occurs. For this reason, patients are asked to wait 20 minutes after a vaccine is given, so that medical treatment can be provided.
Medsafe have further information about Gardasil 9 on their website:
Don’t Miss: Can You Get Meningitis After Being Vaccinated
Why Should The Hpv Vaccine Be Given To Pre
The vaccine work best at this age. Research shows that younger people have a better immune response to the vaccine than those in their late teens and early 20s. And, the vaccines will prevent the covered types of HPV only if they are given before exposure to the virus.
This is also an age when other vaccinations are given, and when children are likely to still be getting regular medical check-ups.
Recommendations For Young Adults
The CDC also recommends a three-dose series of the HPV vaccine for certain people who have not completed the early two-dose series. These include:
- Females through age 26
- Men who have sex with men through age 26
In addition, the HPV vaccine is recommended for young adults up to age 26 who are immunocompromised, such as those living with HIV.
Although men get HPV-associated diseases less often than women, vaccination is still recommended. This is especially true for MSM, who are up to 38 times more likely to get anal cancer compared to the general population that jumps to 130 times more likely if they have HIV.
Also Check: Which Vaccine Is The Most Effective
What’s The Best Way To Protect Against Hpv
Since the HPV vaccine is less beneficial in adults, the best way to prevent HPV-related cancers is to get regular screenings, says Dr. Perkins.
For cervical cancer there are two types of screening: the Pap and HPV test. Both are done by gently scraping the cervix to remove cells , according to the American Cancer Society. While similar, there are a few key differences between the test:
- Pap test: Also called a Pap smear, this test looks for changes in the cells of the cervix.People with a cervix over the age of 21 should get a Pap test every three years, per the CDC. Once you reach 65 years old, you may not need to be screened anymore.
- HPV test: This test looks for the HPV virus specifically, the CDC says. Those with a cervix over the age of 3065 should get an HPV test every five years along with a Pap test.
Early detection of cervical cancer can greatly improve someone’s prognosis, according to the ACS, which is why it’s important for adults to get screened regularly.
Meanwhile, screenings for other HPV-related cancers like anal cancer or penile cancer are not recommended for the general population. That’s because penile cancers are often detected early as it usually starts as a noticeable change in the skin. Therefore, there are no widely recommended screening tests for penile cancer, per the ACS.
To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter
How Is The Hpv Vaccine Given
The HPV vaccine is given as 2 injections into the upper arm spaced at least 6 months apart.
It’s important to have both doses of the vaccine to be properly protected.
If you missed the HPV vaccine offered in school Year 8, you can get it for free up until your 25th birthday.
But if you get your 1st vaccine dose at the age of 15 or over, you’ll need to have 3 injections.
Men who have sex with men , and trans men and trans women who are eligible for the vaccine, will need 3 doses of the vaccine .
If you need 3 doses of the vaccine:
- the 2nd dose should be given at least 1 month after the 1st dose
- the 3rd dose should be given at least 3 months after the 2nd dose
It’s important to have all 3 vaccine doses to be properly protected.
Read Also: Does Cvs Offer Tdap Vaccine
Why Do Women Over 45 Have Difficulty Getting Vaccinated With Hpv Vaccine
Sometimes, women over 45 have difficulty getting HPV vaccination with Gardasil-9 because insurance coverage is only available up to the recommended age of 45. Time constraints and the six-month vaccination schedule are additional barriers that prevent older women from getting Gardasil-9. Although it is an out-of-pocket expense, it may be worthwhile for women over 45 to get vaccinated against HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and around the world.
HPV vaccination protects against genital warts and cancers of the cervix, vagina, and vulva in women. Protection is most effective in women who have not been sexually active, who have had few sexual partners or never been infected with HPV. Evidence suggests that HPV vaccination may also be partially effective for women who have been previously infected with HPV. Talk to the experienced physicians at New York Urology Specialists to find out how you can benefit from the Gardasil-9 HPV vaccine regardless of age and sexual history. You can schedule an appointment online or contact us by phone or email.
Common Questions About The Hpv Vaccine Schedule
ACIP makes recommendations based on the best available scientific evidence. Immunogenicity studies have shown that 2 doses of HPV vaccine given at least 6 months apart to 914 year-olds provided as good or better antibody response than 3 doses given to older adolescents or young adults.
Answering parents questions: The data we have from current scientific studies show that 2 doses of HPV vaccine given at least 6 months apart were as good or better than 3 doses in children 914 years of age. The immune response for older people hasnt been studied in the same way, so we dont have information available for that age group. For that reason, older teens and adults still need three doses for best protection.
Yes. In a 2-dose schedule of HPV vaccine, the recommended interval is 612 months, and the minimum interval is 5 months between the first and second dose. If the second dose is given earlier than 5 months, a third dose should be given.
Answering parents questions: The recommended schedule is 2 doses given 6 to 12 months apart. The minimum amount of time between those doses is 5 months. Because your child received 2 doses less than 5 months apart, well need to give your child a third dose.
Answering parents questions: Even though CDC has recommended just 2 doses of HPV for kids under 15 years, well need to give your child 3 doses because he/she has a health condition that can weaken the immune system.
Answering patients questions:
Read Also: Why Does Everyone Need To Be Vaccinated
What Are The Vaccines Made From
HPV vaccines stimulate the immune system to prepare antibodies against these viruses. They do not contain viruses or parts of viruses. They are made from proteins that mimic the viral envelope and are unable to infect the person who is given the vaccine. In other words, these vaccines cannot transmit a HPV infection.
Like many other vaccines, HPV vaccines contain an adjuvant, which is used to increase the immune systems response to the vaccine. HPV vaccines do not contain any preservatives, latex, antibiotics, thimerosal or mercury.
HPV vaccines are developed in accordance with the usual process prescribed by Health Canada. This process regulates and oversees vaccine research, manufacturing, licensing, efficacy and safety. All vaccines must go through this process in order to be distributed in Canada.
The manufacturer of the Cervarix® vaccine has not taken steps for this vaccine to be licensed in Canada for use in boys. It is therefore approved for use in girls and women age 9 to 45. However, scientific data, including data from a study conducted in Québec, shows that this vaccine is safe and produces a similar immune response in boys and girls. In addition, in Europe this vaccine is approved for use in boys and girls age 9 or older. Norway has been using two doses of the Cervarix® vaccine for both boys and girls since September 2018.
For more information, consult How Vaccines Work.
What Is Hpv Vaccine
HPV vaccine helps protects against a virus that causes several cancers that can affect anyone. These include cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina and anus in women, or cancers of the anus and penis in men, and possibly throat cancers for both men and women. The vaccine is also effective at preventing genital warts.
- The vaccine works by causing your bodys immune system to produce its own protection against the HPV types most likely to cause cancer or genital warts.
- If an immunised person comes into contact with HPV, the antibodies in their blood will fight the virus and protect them against being infected.
- It usually takes several weeks after vaccination to develop protection against HPV.
Protection from the vaccine is long-lasting and is not expected to wear off over time.
Read Also: Will Medicare Cover Shingles Vaccine
What Should People Over 26 Consider If They Want To Talk To Their Doctor About The Vaccine
People should recognize that life circumstances can change. A monogamous relationship may end and a person may start dating again. Getting the vaccine later in life wont cure HPV if a person already has it. But if a person has one strain of the disease, getting vaccinated will protect against other strains, which may include the high-risk forms.
I weighed some of these factors after I was divorced. I decided it made sense to get lifelong protection. So I got the vaccine as a man in my early 40s.
Its also worth pointing out that people are living longer. Newly diagnosed cases of sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise among older people, meaning that sexual activity when older is not free of risk. HPV among unvaccinated older people could very likely be rising as well.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Getting Hpv
While condoms do not eliminate the risk of HPV infection, using a condom consistently and properly during vaginal, anal and oral sex decreases the chances of getting HPV or passing it on to your partner. You need to remember that a condom can only protect the area it covers so it may be possible to become infected by any uncovered warts . Using a condom will also help to protect you from other sexually transmitted infections and reduce the chances of unintended pregnancies.
Other ways to lower your risk of infection include delaying sexual activity , limiting your number of sexual partners and considering your partners’ sexual history as this can create a risk to yourself. .
There are now three HPV vaccines authorized for use in Canada: Gardasil®, Gardasil®9 and Cervarix®.
Gardasil® provides protection against four HPV types: two that cause approximately 70 per cent of all cervical cancers and two that cause approximately 90 per cent of all anogenital warts in males and females . Gardasil®9 prevents up to an additional 14% of anogenital cancers caused by the additional five HPV types included in the vaccine. These vaccines are approved for use in females aged 9-45 years and males aged 9-26 years.
Cervarix® provides protection against the two HPV types that cause approximately 70 per cent of all cervical cancers . It has been approved for use in females aged 9 to 45.
Read Also: Do You Need To Be Vaccinated
What Are The Side Effects
Many people have no side effects from the vaccines. For those that do, common side effects may include soreness, redness and swelling where the vaccine was given. Fever, fatigue, headache, and muscle or joint ache may also occur. As with other vaccines, fainting has occurred following HPV vaccination. Fainting can occur with any medical procedure – not just the HPV vaccine and people recover quickly.
It is important to stay in the clinic for 15 minutes after getting any vaccine because there is a very rare possibility, between one in 100,000 and one in a million, of a life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. This may include hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of the throat, tongue or lips. Should this reaction occur, your health care provider is prepared to treat it. Emergency treatment includes administration of epinephrine and transfer by ambulance to the nearest emergency department. If symptoms develop after you leave the clinic, call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.
It is important to always report serious or unexpected reactions to your health care provider.
What Are The Different Types Of Hpv And What Do They Do
There are more than 100 different types of HPV, and around 40 that affect the genital area.
HPV is very common and can be caught through any kind of sexual contact with another person who already has it.
Most people will get an HPV infection at some point in their lives and their bodies will get rid of it naturally without treatment.
But some people infected with a high-risk type of HPV will not be able to clear it.
Over time, this can cause abnormal tissue growth as well as other changes, which can lead to cancer if not treated.
High-risk types of HPV are linked to different types of cancer, including:
Infection with other types of HPV may cause:
- genital warts small growths or skin changes on or around the genital or anal area they’re the most common viral sexually transmitted infection in the UK
- skin warts and verrucas not on the genital area
- warts on the voice box or vocal cords
You May Like: How To Administer Meningococcal Vaccine
Possible Side Effects And Risks
The vaccine is safe, effective and generally well tolerated. Reactions are usually mild. Common side effects include pain, swelling and redness where the vaccine was given, headache, fever, dizziness, nausea, vomiting or feeling faint shortly after receiving the vaccine.
In rare cases, serious allergic reactions such as trouble breathing, rash, swelling in the throat and face may occur. The allergic reactions can be treated and are usually temporary. Please stay at the clinic for 15 minutes after vaccination so staff can monitor for any reactions. There are no long-term side-effects or chronic medical conditions associated with this vaccine.
In USA, 29 million doses of HPV vaccine was given between December 2014 and 2017. Passive surveillance system received 7,244 reports. Most common are dizziness, fainting, headache and general reactions to the injection site. No new safety signals or unexpected patterns were observed.
The Hpv Vaccine Is Now Fda
This story has been updated to include more information about the study cited by the FDA.
For years, health officials have urged people under the age of 26 to get the vaccine that protects against human papilloma virus . If you happened to miss that deadline or were older than 26 when the vaccine came out, it wasnt recommended for you. But now, adults over 26 may want to consider getting it if they haven’t already.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved expanding the use of one form of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil 9, to include people between the ages of 27 and 45. Gardasil 9 helps prevent certain cancers and diseases caused by the nine HPV types that are covered by the vaccine.
The approval represents an important opportunity to help prevent HPV-related diseases and cancers in a broader age range, Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that HPV vaccination prior to becoming infected with the HPV types covered by the vaccine has the potential to prevent more than 90 percent of these cancers, or 31,200 cases every year, from ever developing.
The FDA deemed Gardasil 9 safe for men in the same age group based on that data, as well as data from Gardasil used in younger men and data from a clinical trial of 150 men between the ages of 27 and 45 who received the HPV vaccine.
Related:
Also Check: Where Can You Get Free Vaccines