Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause genital and anal warts, cervical cancer, as well as other cancers including cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and throat.
When it comes to HPV, early protection works best. That’s why the HPV vaccine is recommended earlier rather than later. It protects children long before they ever have contact with the virus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Efficacy of HPV vaccines demonstrated in US
Clinical trials have demonstrated high efficacy (close to 100%) of HPV vaccines in preventing HPV vaccine type-related persistent infection and cervical cancer. These involved persons without evidence of infection with the vaccine types at the time of vaccination. The initial trials were conducted in women aged 15 or 16 through age 26, following a three-dose vaccination schedule.
Since the introduction of HPV vaccines in the United States in 2006, cases of HPV infections and cervical precancers (abnormal cells on the cervix that can lead to cancer) have substantially decreased, said the CDC.
Among teen girls, infections with HPV types that cause most HPV cancers and genital warts have dropped by 88 percent. Among young adult women, infections with HPV types that cause most HPV cancers and genital warts have dropped by 81 percent. Among vaccinated women, the percentage of cervical precancers caused by the HPV types most often linked to cervical cancer has dropped by 40 percent.
PH experts recommend HPV vaccination
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) and Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) recommend a 2-dose HPV vaccine series for females ages 9-14 years, and a 3-dose series for females ages 15 years and older. They recommend HPV vaccine for males 9-18 years of age for the prevention of anal and genital warts and anal cancer.
Schedule your family’s HPV vaccination now by visiting https://www.vaccination.watsons.com.ph/.
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm. Accessed 4 August 2023
http://www.pidsphil.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CIS-2018.pdf. Accessed 4 August 2023
https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/vaccine-for-hpv.html. Accessed 11 October 2023
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/vaccines.html#:~:text=All%20HPV%20vaccines%20have%20been,with%20the%20vaccine%20types%20at. Accessed 11 October 2023
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