HPV Vaccine Effective, Offers Herd Protection After 17 Years

TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Seventeen years after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine introduction, population-level effectiveness and herd protection are robust, according to a study published online Sept. 29 in JAMA Pediatrics.Aislinn DeSieghardt, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study using data from six surveillance studies from 2006 to 2023 involving adolescent girls and young women (13 to 26 years). By comparing the proportions of vaccinated and unvaccinated participants positive for at least one vaccine-type HPV in the two-valent vaccine (2vHPV), 4vHPV, and 9vHPV, effectiveness and herd protection were assessed.Of 2,335 participants, 51.2 percent reported a sexually transmitted infection history and 78.9 percent reported two or more male sex partners. From 2006 to 2023, vaccination rates increased from 0 of 371 participants to 330 of 402 (82.1 percent) participants. Among vaccinated participants, positivity decreased from 27.7 to 0.4 percent for 2vHPV, from 35.4 to 2.1 percent for 4vHPV, and from 48.6 to 11.8 percent for 9vHPV. Among unvaccinated participants, the corresponding positivity decreased from 25.8 to 7.3 percent, from 25.3 to 6.1 percent, and from 42.7 to 31.1 percent, respectively. Significant reductions were seen in the odds of at least one HPV type in the 2vHPV and 4vHPV among all (adjusted odds ratios [aORs], 0.03 and 0.06, respectively), vaccinated (aORs, 0.01 and 0.04, respectively), and unvaccinated (aORs, 0.23 and 0.19, respectively) participants and in the 9vHPV among all and vaccinated participants (aORs, 0.22 and 0.14, respectively)."These results reinforce the potential of the HPV vaccine to prevent infection and, ultimately, eliminate cervical cancer globally," lead author Jessica Kahn, M.D., M.P.H., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, said in a statement.One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry; two authors hold related patents.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

HPV Vaccine Effective, Offers Herd Protection After 17 Years

Related Stories