Thread by @bopinion

💉 If only we had a vaccine for cancer, people have said. Oh, wait, we do.

And now a major study has shown just how effective it is trib.al/R1YsHor

In 2008, the U.K. began offering girls ages 12 and 13 an immunization against the human papillomavirus -- which is the cause of nearly all cervical cancer.

The vaccine was later rolled out in a catch-up program to older girls and, since 2019, to boys trib.al/OrKqUJs

The HPV vaccine had a dramatic effect on rates of cervical cancer, with an 87% reduction in those who were offered the vaccine at ages 12-13, according to data from a population-based cancer registry taken from 2006 to 2019 trib.al/OrKqUJs

The study’s findings show the importance of making these vaccines more widely available around the world, especially in developing countries.

It's also a reminder that take-up rates could still be higher in many countries — and not just among girls
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There are over 200 kinds of HPV common in humans.

Nearly 40% of females are infected with HPV within two years of their first sexual activity.

Vaccines can’t work after an HPV infection, which is why it’s important that youngsters are vaccinated early trib.al/OrKqUJs

HPV is generally known as the cause of cervical cancer, but it’s the culprit in many other cancers, too.

In 1999, molecular epidemiologist and cancer expert Maura Gillison connected some head-and-neck cancers to HPV and sexually transmitted disease trib.al/OrKqUJs

The U.K. has seen a large drop in the main cancer-causing HPV types in both women and men, thanks to the vaccine.

In 2020, the U.S. FDA broadened the approval of Merck's HPV vaccine, Gardasil 9 (which protects against nine different types of HPV) trib.al/OrKqUJs

Why are HPV vaccination rates so low?

➡️The two- or three-shot dosing may be a deterrent for some
➡️There's concerns about adverse effects
➡️Doctors and parents might be more hesitant to discuss it because it's is associated with sexual transmission trib.al/OrKqUJs

On top of the world’s experience with Covid-19, the Lancet study on the HPV vaccine is another reminder of the lifesaving impact of vaccines.

When science gives us a gift, we’d do well to take it
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