Reasons to Get Vaccinated

Key points

  • All children ages 11–12-years should get HPV vaccine to protect against cancers caused by HPV infections.
Smiling mother embracing her daughter

Why it's important

Almost every unvaccinated person who is sexually active will get HPV at some time in their life. About 13 million Americans, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. Most HPV infections will go away on their own. But infections that don’t go away can cause certain types of cancer.

HPV can cause cancers of the:

  • Cervix, vagina, and vulva in women
  • Penis in men
  • Anus in both women and men
  • Back of the throat (called oropharyngeal cancer), including the base of the tongue and tonsils, in both men and women

What the data show

HPV vaccination works.

HPV infections, genital warts, and cervical pre-cancers (abnormal cells on the cervix that can lead to cancer) have dropped since the vaccine has been in use in the United States.

  • Infections with HPV types that cause most HPV cancers and genital warts have dropped 88% among teen girls and 81% among young adult women.
  • Among vaccinated women, the percentage of cervical pre-cancers caused by the HPV types most often linked to cervical cancer have dropped by 40 percent.

HPV vaccination is cancer prevention.

HPV is estimated to cause nearly 36,500 cases of cancer in men and women every year in the United States. HPV vaccination can prevent 90% of these cancers by preventing the infections that cause them.

Preventing cancer is better than treating it.

HPV can cause several kinds of cancer. Only cervical cancer can be detected early with a screening test. The other cancers caused by HPV may not be detected until they are more serious. HPV vaccination prevents infections that cause these cancers.

Early protection works best.

Most children only need two doses of HPV vaccine when vaccinated before age 15 years. You can take advantage of any visit to your child’s doctor to get recommended vaccines for your child:

  • Annual checkups
  • Sports physicals
  • Annual flu shot or other vaccine visits

HPV vaccination provides safe, effective, and long-lasting protection.

With more than 135 million doses distributed in the United States, HPV vaccine has a reassuring safety record that’s backed by over 15 years of monitoring and research.

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Content Source:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Division of Viral Diseases