Can a person still get cervical cancer or genital warts after vaccination? Are regular Paps and HPV testing still necessary after being vaccinated?
Yes to both questions! Even with a vaccine, women will still need a regular Pap and – if 30 or over – the HPV test. That’s because: • The protection offered by the vaccine is incomplete. There are roughly 15 types of the HPV virus that can cause cervical cancer. Gardasil and Cervarix (in countries where approved) are designed to protect against two types of the virus that are responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancers. However, they cannot fully protect women against the remaining 30 percent of cervical cancers that are caused by other “high-risk” types of HPV. • The vaccine cannot protect everyone. HPV is transmitted through intimate (sexual) skin-to-skin contact. Thus, to be fully effective, current research suggests that the vaccine should be given before girls become sexually active. In other words, the ideal time to get the vaccine is during adolescence. • There are a lot of unknowns. For example, it is not known whether a “booster” vaccine shot will be needed later in lif
Related Questions
- Can a person still get cervical cancer or genital warts after vaccination? Are regular Paps and HPV testing still necessary after being vaccinated?
- Can a person still get cervical cancer and genital warts after being vaccinated? Are Pap smears and HPV testing still needed after vaccination?
- How do women get HPV?
