A new study of women in the U.K. shows the unqualified success of the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) in preventing cervical cancer.
Women who received the HPV vaccine at age 12-13 had an 87% lower risk of contracting cervical cancer, according to a study that involved a review of public health records and covered a total of 13.7 million years in the lives of different women, published in the Lancet.
In fact: The HPV vaccine program begun in the U.K. in 2008 has “almost eliminated cervical cancer in women born since Sept. 1, 1995.”
This is not yet the case in the U.S., where the HPV vaccine has been available since 2006; as of last year, the vaccine was required for students in only 13 states, Puerto Rico, and D.C. It’s estimated that there will be 14,480 new cases of cervical cancer in the U.S. this year.
HPV causes cancer in women and men—including more than 90% of cervical cancer cases. Multiple studies have shown the HPV vaccine prevents cancers.
But just as we’ve seen with COVID-19 vaccines, hesitancy among parents is a problem. Although the CDC recommends the vaccine for everyone aged 11-12, only about half of U.S. adolescents have received it, according to the American Association for Cancer Research.
“Parental skepticism regarding the HPV vaccine has been a known driver of suboptimal vaccine uptake in the United States,” said Eric Adjei Boakye of Southern Illinois University, who recently shared his study of 16,383 adolescents who had not received the vaccine. He said misinformation on social media was a major cause of skepticism.
What we need:public information campaigns focused on hesitant parents, he continued.
Do you want to help stop the spread of vaccine misinformation? Visit Stronger, a campaign supported by BIO, The Public Good Projects, and Google.
More Reading: 3 ways we can increase immunization and combat the spread of preventable disease
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