HPV Infection Protection

In the battle against cervical cancer, can 2 doses of the HPV vaccine protect as well as the recommended 3 doses?

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide. The HPV vaccine protects against some types the human papillomavirus, a major cause of cervical cancer, but it’s been slow to catch on, in part due to the cost and the number of doses recommended for girls and young women.

Canadian researchers wanted to find out whether fewer injections would be just as effective in adolescents.

It’s traditional with these protein vaccines to give two doses quite close together within a couple of months of each other and then wait a period of time and give a third dose.

Their study included 675 females who were willing to give follow up blood samples. Participants who were between 9 and 13 years of age were randomly selected to receive either two or three doses over six months. All of the older teenagers and 20-somethings received 3 doses.

My parents had explained that it will help prevent cancer for when I’m older.

Antibodies were then checked in their blood over a three-year period.

The two doses given to young girls was no worse than the three doses given to young women at least immediately after the last dose had been given the responses in the two dose girls was no worse than the three dose girls.

The researchers say it’s still too early to change the recommendation on how many shots allow for adequate protection and they’re calling for more studies to be done.