It would not be an exaggeration to describe the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine like a medical miracle.
“It’s like a gift that keeps on giving,” says Mark Jit, professor of vaccine epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the United Kingdom. It is not only the only vaccine that can prevent cancerbut “we discover that it is even better as time goes by,” he highlights.
Since its development and implementation in the mid-2010s, the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine in reducing rates of cervical cancer, also known as cervical cancer, has been notable. Over a period of 11 years in the United Kingdom, cases of this type of cancer fell by 87% among those who received the vaccinecompared to those who do not, according to The Lancet. It is conceivable that one day it will be possible to effectively eliminate an entire variety of cancer.
And vaccines don’t just protect against cervical cancer. They also serve to prevent cancer of the head and neck, vaginal, anal and penis, in addition to protecting against genital warts in both genders. But therein lies the problem: although these vaccines protect against cancers that affect both men and women, children and adult men are not offered the vaccine in two-thirds of the countries where they are available. In those places, half of the people who would benefit miss out on a life-saving intervention. But this is starting to change.
Vaccines against HPV without distinction of gender
When HPV vaccines were introduced and the price was still high, it made sense to target the highest-risk group, says Jit, that is, girls between 9 and 14 years old. But in the decade since, the cost of vaccines has dropped considerably. And during the same period, research demonstrating the benefits of HPV vaccination campaigns without gender distinction. “From the point of view of social justice and equality, it makes sense to vaccinate men y women,” says Kit Yates, a mathematical biologist at the University of Bath. Failure to do so means leaving men at risk and this places the responsibility of protecting men from HPV on women, rather than sharing the burden.
An obstacle to further application in recent years there has been uneven supply: As eligible groups expanded, demand skyrocketed. Vaccine manufacturers could not keep up and large shortages occurred, meaning many low-income countries were left without them. But supplies are starting to increase again, and India, which is the world’s largest vaccine producer, debuted its own version last year, as reported Reuters.
New research also shows that a single dose offers sufficient protection, meaning that the usual two-application regime would be halved and it would be possible to include twice as many people in national programs. “Now is the time to start asking whether, in fact, are there other groups [de la población] “Should they get vaccinated?” Jit highlights.
HPV is a very common problem
He HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). Between 80% and 90% of people acquire it at some point in their lives, usually through skin-to-skin contact. Chances are that you, who read us, will contract the virus, if you haven’t already. Luckily, for most carriers it will have no repercussions; You can be asymptomatic throughout your life.
But for a small part of the carriers, HPV causes life-threatening cases of cancer; Of the nearly 200 types of HPV, dozens are carcinogenic. The virus becomes carcinogenic by sneaking into the body and penetrating cells, where it photocopies itself. Most infections do not take hold and are expelled by your body within a year or two, but some are persistent, turning normal cells into abnormal ones, which would cause cancer if left untreated.
2023-10-20 20:01:13
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