HPV vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years. Some adults age 27 through 45 years who were not already vaccinated might choose to get HPV vaccine after speaking with their doctor about their risk for new HPV infections and possible benefits of vaccination for them.
Generally, since the vaccine does not treat HPV, it just prevents it, there is less benefit after people become sexually active and have likely been exposed to HPV already. The cost-benefit ratio for vaccinating older adults weighs more to the side of just adding cost, so the CDC does not recommend it,” says Dr.
Over the years, researchers have learned more about when people should get the HPV vaccine. It was originally approved for females ages 9 through 26. Then the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended both females and males get vaccinated up to age 26. However, people can get vaccinated up to age 45.
Didn't get the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine when you were a child or young adult? Not to worry. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has you covered. The Gardasil 9 HPV vaccine is now approved to include men and women ages 27 to 45.
Sometimes, women over 45 have difficulty getting HPV vaccination with Gardasil-9 because insurance coverage is only available up to the recommended age of 45. Time constraints and the six-month vaccination schedule are additional barriers that prevent older women from getting Gardasil-9.
HPV vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years. Some adults age 27 through 45 years who were not already vaccinated might choose to get HPV vaccine after speaking with their doctor about their risk for new HPV infections and possible benefits of vaccination for them.
Usually, the body's immune system gets rid of the HPV infection naturally within two years. This is true of both oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV types. By age 50, at least 4 out of every 5 women will have been infected with HPV at one point in their lives. HPV is also very common in men, and often has no symptoms.
Quadrivalent HPV vaccine
Gardasil® (Seqirus/Merck & Co Inc) is a quadrivalent VLP HPV vaccine (4vHPV; types 16, 18, 6 and 11) registered in Australia for use in females aged 9–45 years and in males aged 9–26 years.
Males and females ages 9 to 45 can get the vaccine
In fact, patients 15 and older should receive three shots over the course of six months to receive the same benefit. The bottom line: All males and females ages 9–26 should get the HPV vaccine. It is most effective when given at ages 11–12.
The HPV vaccine has been a political lightening rod in Japan, where claims of side effects prompted the government to halt active recommendation of the shots in June 2013.
HPV vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program for young people aged approximately 12 to 13. The vaccine is primarily provided through school immunisation programs. Adolescents who missed the HPV vaccination at 12 to 13 years of age can catch up for a free up to age 26.
How common is HPV? HPV is very common. It is estimated that up to 80% of people in Australia have HPV at some time in their lives.
You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. It is most commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. It also spreads through close skin-to-skin touching during sex. A person with HPV can pass the infection to someone even when they have no signs or symptoms.
Long-lasting protection
The protection provided by HPV vaccines lasts a long time. People who received HPV vaccines were followed for at least about 12 years, and their protection against HPV has remained high with no evidence of decreasing over time.
It is spread by skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an HPV infection—some HPV types cause genital warts but many types produce no symptoms (and symptoms may appear weeks, months, or even years after infection).
Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area. They can be small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower. The warts may go away, stay the same, or grow in size or number. A healthcare provider can usually diagnose genital warts by looking at them.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. There is no treatment for HPV. For most individuals, HPV infection is harmless, has no symptoms, and goes away on its own. Some types of HPV can cause illnesses, such as anogenital warts or different types of cancer.
HPV can clear up naturally – as there is no cure for the underlying HPV infection, the only way to get rid of HPV is to wait for the immune system to clear the virus naturally.
Key facts about having the HPV vaccine privately
You can pay to have the HPV vaccine at some high street pharmacies, travel clinics and, sometimes, your GP surgery.
Most people with HPV — no matter what their gender is — don't have any symptoms. Sometimes HPV can cause warts on your penis or vulva and around your anus. Genital warts can cause irritation and discomfort, and you can pass the HPV that caused them to other people.
HPV is sensitive to some chemical disinfectants, including hypochlorites and formulas containing peracetic acid and silver. Additionally, automatic machines using sonicated hydrogen peroxide are especially effective against HPV-16 and HPV-18, two high-risk strains of HPV.
Those who said they were depressed or believed they had high levels of stress also still had an active HPV infection. HPV usually clears up on its own, but this study is really the first to indicate a link between stress and persistent HPV infection.
A significant proportion of elderly women were found to have a persistent cervical HPV infection. Among them there was a high prevalence of CIN diagnosed by histology. The HPV test showed high sensitivity and specificity in detecting CIN in elderly women, while cytology showed extremely low sensitivity.