A new study examined whether the HPV vaccine remains effective eight years after initial vaccination. The study, “Long-Term Study of a Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine,” appearing in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics, followed boys and girls who were vaccinated with the HPV vaccine between the ages of nine and 15.
The results showed that these pre-adolescents and adolescents still showed vaccination-induced anti-HPV response eight years later and that no new, significant adverse effects were reported. Among these preadolescents and adolescents who received the HPV vaccine at a mean age of 12, none developed disease related to the HPV types covered by the vaccine. According to the CDC, each year HPV vaccination rates remain near the current level of 33%, an additional 4,400 women will be diagnosed annually with cervical cancer.
Study authors conclude that high uptake of the HPV vaccination is paramount in reducing HPV-related cancers and that results of this study should reinforce the national recommendations for HPV vaccination of all preadolescents and young adolescents.
