‘THE HPV JAB’S MADE AN AMAZING DIFFERENCE’
It’s caused a lot of controversy, but the HPV vaccine has almost wiped out infections in young women – now boys will get it too. Dr C is thrilled
he rate of HPV T in women aged 16 to 21 who had the vaccine has dropped by a huge 86 per cent. It’s HPV that causes cervical cancer, so that’s amazing news, and complete proof of everything we’ve been saying to anti-vaccine naysayers for years. Since the jab was introduced in 2008, it’s caused controversy, with claims of side effects such as chronic fatigue and thrombosis. However, the safety of the vaccine has been rigorously tested.
Boys are also going to be vaccinated now, which is something I’ve campaigned for, so I’m delighted. People might wonder why we should do it, but HPV causes around 2,000 cancer cases, mainly of the throat, in men each year, and around 650 deaths. Men with HPV can also pass it to partners, plus it can also cause genital warts. These are really hard to treat, linger for months and cost the NHS a lot of money to treat, they are also distressing.
IT COULD WIPE OUT CERVICAL CANCER
The strain that causes warts isn’t the same as the one that causes cancer, but both are covered by the jab. It works best on boys and girls who are free of HPV at the time of vaccination, and HPV can only be caught through sex, hence why we vaccinate at 12. But you could pay for the jab privately as an adult (it’s £155 at Boots), because even once you have been sexually active, there’s no guarantee you’ve been infected with all 120+ different strains of HPV.
In Australia, they started giving the vaccine to girls aged 12-13 in 2007, and to boys in 2013. They’re now set to become the first country in the world to eradicate cervical cancer, with the number of new cases projected to drop to just a handful within 40 years. We could wipe out a form of cancer within our lifetimes. We’ve eliminated lots of infectious diseases through vaccination, from small pox to polio, now cervical cancer could be a disease of the past. More than 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year – more than 800 of whom will die – and HPV is the cause. It’s one of the biggest cancers in women under 35, so by getting your son or daughter to have their jab, you’re doing them a huge favour.
SMEAR TESTS ARE STILL IMPORTANT
Most of you won’t have been vaccinated, so you still need to attend cervical screenings and, for now, those who have been vaccinated will too – but our grandkids may never have to. Now that’s a good news story!