A new brief from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) adds further momentum to movements recommending a single dose of the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine. Originally recommended as a three-dose series when first approved and made widely available, the CDC currently recommends two doses of the HPV vaccine for 9 – 14 year olds in the United States, and the World Health Organization in 2022 moved to a one or two-dose recommendation for girls and women 9 – 20 years old.
This new brief summarizes the results of IARC’s single-dose vaccine trial, which found that:
“a single dose of the vaccine is as effective as two or three doses in preventing persistent HPV16 and HPV18 infections.”
HPV16 and HPV18 are two specific types of HPV that can significantly increase the risk of cervical cancer, and are responsible for up to 70 percent of cases.
Moving to single dose vaccination would not only make vaccination easier for boys and girls, and their parents and guardians, but would held reduce the burden on governments and health systems as well.
Expanding the reach of effective HPV vaccination would help to further prevent cervical and other HPV-related cancers, bringing important benefits to individuals, families, communities, and nations alike.
