Does The Hpv Vaccine Protect Me For Life
The vaccine appears to offer long-term protection from HPV. But, even women who have received the vaccine should see their gynecologist regularly for a Pap test to check for cervical cancer. The vaccine doesnât protect against all HPV types that can cause cervical cancer.
If you missed part of the HPV vaccine series, talk to your doctor about getting the missing dose.
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Preteen Hpv Vaccine Provides Lifetime Protection
The best time to get the HPV vaccine is before becoming sexually active to ensure protection against harmful HPV strains. The vaccine is not effective against existing HPV infection.
The CDC recommends HPV vaccination for males and females 11 or 12 years old to ensure theyre protected before virus exposure. Its also recommended up to age 26 for people who didn’t get the vaccine when they were younger.
We all have to realize that at some point the gross majority of all people will be sexually active with someone, notes Dr. Ruff. Preparing for that possible exposure before it happens makes the most sense.
The HPV vaccine is long lasting and has no known serious side effects. At this time, there is no evidence that protection decreases over time. ThisHPV vaccine decision tool may be helpful if youre evaluating the vaccine for your son.
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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.
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.
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What Does Hpv Mean For My Relationship
HPV infections are usually temporary. A person may have HPV for many years before it causes health problems. If you or your partner receive a diagnosis of a disease from HPV, there is no way to know:
- How long you have had HPV
- Whether your partner gave you HPV or
- Whether you gave HPV to your partner.
HPV is not always a sign that one of you is having sex outside of your relationship. It is important that sex partners discuss their sexual health and risk for STIs with each other.
Fda Expands Gardasil 9 Hpv Vaccine Approval To Boys Young Men
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The FDA expanded the age indication for Gardasil 9 HPV vaccine to include boys and men aged 16 to 26 years, according to a press release from Merck, the vaccines manufacturer.
The approval of Gardasil 9 for males 16 through 26 years of age is a milestone in the planned transition from Gardasil to Gardasil 9, as both products are now approved for the same populations, the release said.
Gardasil 9 protects against five additional HPV types compared with the original Gardasil. The 9-valent vaccine prevents anal cancer caused by HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58, as well as precancerous or dysplastic lesions caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58 and genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11.
While it is important to remember that the CDCs ACIP recommends routine HPV vaccination at age 11 or 12, before exposure to the HPV virus, this expanded indication for GARDASIL 9 is exciting because now 16- through 26-year-old young men can get this HPV vaccine,Anna Giuliano, PhD, clinical investigator for Gardasil 9 and director of the Center for Infection Research in Cancer at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, said in the release. Its important that we collectively work to increase HPV vaccination rates to help prevent HPV-related cancers and diseases.
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Immunizations Are Rising Slowly But Surely
The number of adolescents receiving the HPV vaccine is slowly climbing. The CDC reports that the number of 13- to 17-year-olds who have completed the vaccine series grew an average of 5 percentage points from 2016 to 2017.
In 2017, nearly 66 percent of adolescents ages 13 to 17 received the first dose of the vaccine series, and nearly 49 percent of adolescents in the same age group had completed the series.
The goal for adolescents is a vaccination rate of 80 percent, Dr. Sheth says. This target is reachable. There are other countries that have been able to reach those rates and are already seeing dramatic benefits either in their rates of warts or their rates of dysplasia in their populations.
An important factor, Dr. Sheth says, is for every clinician to recommend the vaccine. A clinician’s recommendation means a lot to families and children and adults, she says.
Dr. Vash-Margita agrees. The vaccine is very safe and has been on the market for 12 years, she says. I tell my patients and their families, This is the only vaccine the medical establishment has against any kind of cancer. Please do it.
Symptoms And Causative Agent
HPVs are non-enveloped DNA viruses that infect cells of the skin and mucous membranes.
Most people who contract human papillomavirus infection have no symptoms, and they quickly clear the virus from their bodies. However, in other people certain types of low-risk HPVs cause genital warts. Other HPV types are the main cause of cervical cancer, and are associated with anal, penile, mouth, and throat cancers. These are referred to as high-risk HPVs.
HPV is primarily known for its role in causing cervical cancer. Two strains of the virus strains 16 and 18 are estimated to be responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases, leading to about 500,000 new cases and 270,000 deaths worldwide each year. There are about a dozen other high-risk HPV strains that collectively account for the other 30% of cervical cancers.
HPV is very common: one study showed that nearly 27% of women aged 14-59 tested positive for one or more strains of HPV. Rates for men are likely to be similar. More than 80% of women will have been infected with genital HPV by the time they reach age 50.
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Will Girls/women Who Have Been Vaccinated Still Need Cervical Cancer Screening
The HPV vaccines currently available do not protect against all types of HPV. Even when someone is vaccinated, it is still possible to become infected with one of the types of HPV that the vaccine does not protect against. Therefore, it is important that vaccinated girls/women continue to have regular Pap tests. For more information, see the “It’s Your Health” Fact Sheet on screening for cervical cancer . The recommendations for Pap screening vary depending on the province or territory you live in. Ask your local health care provider about the recommendations in your region.
Get It Earlier Save A Shot
The best time for administering a vaccine is typically during a childs 11- or 12-year wellness visit, says , a pediatrician and associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine.
We tell them that this is a cancer prevention vaccine, and it becomes a fruitful discussion, and something for them to think about.
In our office, we often combine it with other vaccines children are receiving at that wellness visit, such as tetanus and meningitis, Dr. Flaherty-Hewitt says. But we are giving information to parents at the 9-year visit. We tell them that this is a cancer prevention vaccine, and it becomes a fruitful discussion, and something for them to think about.
Two dosesdelivered six to 12 months apartare needed. So, whats nice is if they get it when they come in at 11, they can get the second shot when they turn 12, she says. It doesnt require an extra doctors appointment.
However, if a child waits until age 15 to get the immunization, three doses are required.
Getting two shots instead of three is a big selling point for patients who are afraid of needles, says Alla Vash-Margita, MD, chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.
Plus, the younger a child is when they receive the vaccine, the stronger immune response they mount to it, offering better protection, explains Sangini S. Sheth, MD, MPH, an obstetrician-gynecologist and assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine.
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Cps Infectious Diseases And Immunization Committee
Members: Michelle Barton-Forbes MD Natalie A Bridger MD Shalini Desai MD Michael Forrester MD Ruth Grimes MD Charles Hui Nicole Le Saux MD Timothy Mailman MD Joan L Robinson MD Marina I Salvadori MD Otto G Vanderkooi MD
Liaisons: Upton D Allen MBBS, Canadian Pediatric AIDS Research Group Tobey Audcent MD, Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel , Public Health Agency of Canada Carrie Byington MD, Committee on Infectious Diseases, American Academy of Pediatrics Fahamia Koudra MD, College of Family Physicians of Canada Rhonda Kropp BScN MPH, Public Health Agency of Canada Marc Lebel MD, IMPACT Jane McDonald MD, Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada Dorothy L Moore MD, National Advisory Committee on Immunization
Consultant: Noni E MacDonald MD
Principal author: Marina I Salvadori MD
How Much Does The Hpv Vaccine Cost

Each dose of the vaccine can cost about $250. Luckily, many health insurance companies cover the HPV vaccine. There are also programs that help some people without insurance get the vaccine for low or no cost.
You deserve to be healthy, regardless of whether you have health insurance. Talk with the staff at your local Planned Parenthood health center or another nurse or doctor to get more information about ways to make the vaccine more affordable.
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Contraindication For The Hpv Vaccine
Regarding HPV vaccine administration, reports have shown that it is usually safe, and adverse effects are usually rare the benefits of the vaccine being well beyond the risks of the adverse effects. Thus, many studies regarding the vaccine shot and the appearance of the disease, made the use of the vaccine against HPV controversial . There is a high risk of vaccine refusal when the HPV vaccine is associated with an autoimmune disease because the vaccine is usually recommended for young men and women, in whom the incidence for such an autoimmune disease is high.
There was a report that suggested that there is a possible role of a genetic predisposition to vaccine-induced autoimmune disease . This is a possible and accepted risk compared to the benefit that this vaccine offers against different cancers.
These types of problems can make the parents decline the recommendation for vaccination against HPV for their children, which can lead to the spread of the disease in both men and women.
Regarding the MSM population, one of the most important benefits of the vaccine is the decrease in anal cancer cases. The effectiveness of vaccination has proven to have a good cost-efficiency result. The fact that this vaccine in men can be efficient against other types of cancer, such as oral or penile cancer, make it even more attractive, even though its contribution to this type of cancer is lower than for anal cancer and genital warts.
What Are The Hpv Vaccine Ingredients
The HPV vaccine contains no viruses and is not made from human papillomavirus. The active ingredients in the HPV vaccine are proteins that are similar to those found in the human papillomavirus. Genetically modified bacteria produce the proteins, which are then purified and mixed into a sterile, water-based solution.
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What Are The Risks And Side Effects Of The Hpv Vaccine
In clinical trials and in real-world use, the HPV vaccine appears to be very safe. More than 40 million doses of the vaccine — mostly Gardasil, which was approved in 2006 — have been given in the U.S. Gardasil 9 was approved in 2014 and is now the only HPV vaccine available in the U.S.
From 2006 to 2014, there were about 25,000 reports to the government of HPV vaccine side effects. Over 90% of these were classified as nonserious. The most common side effects of the HPV vaccine are minor:
- About one in 10 people will have a mild fever after the injection.
- About one person in 30 will get itching at the injection site.
- About one in 60 people will experience a moderate fever.
These symptoms go away quickly without treatment. Other mild-to-moderate side effects resulting from the HPV vaccine include:
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)
- Death
Government, academic, and other public health investigators could not identify the HPV vaccine as the cause of any severe adverse event. There were 117 deaths as of September 2015, none of which could be directly tied to the HPV vaccine. The conclusion of public health investigators was that the HPV vaccine was unlikely to be the cause of these events. Such events occur at a certain rate in any group of tens of millions of people. The vaccination before each adverse event seemed to be a simple coincidence.
Show Sources
National Cancer Institute: ”Human Papillomavirus Vaccines.”
The Health Risks Of Hpv
HPV causes almost all cervical cancers but is also linked to cancer of the throat, oral cavity, penis, anus, vagina or vulva. More research is needed to define the extent of these linkages.
Anogenital warts, although rarely associated with cancer, are still a significant burden for those affected often leading to physical, emotional and social problems. They can be effectively treated by applying prescribed medication either in a doctor’s office or by you at home. Other medical treatments include cryotherapy , an electric current, or a laser or surgical removal of the warts but these methods do not always eliminate HPV infection. Even with treatment, warts can recur.
HPV does not appear to affect a woman’s ability to become pregnant. Although considered rare, the baby may be at risk of getting an HPV infection in the throat. A C-section delivery is not routinely recommended, unless there is a significant obstruction or other risks.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Hpv
Most men who get HPV never have symptoms. The infection usually goes away by itself. But, if HPV does not go away, it can cause genital warts or certain kinds of cancer.
Talk to your healthcare provider about anything new or unusual on your penis, scrotum, anus, mouth, or throat. This includes:
- Warts,
- Sores.
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.
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