American Cancer Society Advocates for HPV Vaccine to Protect Pre-Teen Health

The American Cancer Society is educating people on how the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a cancer prevention measure. HPV can cause cancer in men and women. Vaccination helps prevent the infections that lead to many HPV cancers. The American Cancer Society confirms that the HPV vaccination is safe. More than 270 million doses have been distributed around the world since 2006, and safety studies continue to show that HPV vaccination is safe. The safety of vaccines is continually watched by organizations in the US and around the world. All vaccines can have potential side effects, but reactions caused by the HPV vaccine have been mostly mild and like those of other vaccines.

The HPV vaccine is given as a series of two shots, six to 12 months apart. Doctors recommend that girls and boys get vaccinated against HPV at age 11 or 12. The series should be complete by age 13. The vaccine can be started as early as age nine. Children are vaccinated before they’re exposed to an infection, just like measles or pneumonia.

HPV is so common that most people will catch it at some point in their lives. The vaccine helps prevent infection with the most common types of HPV that can cause cervical, throat, vulvar, vaginal, penile, and anal cancer.

Get more information from American Cancer Society about HPV cancers and the vaccine at cancer.org/hpv.