Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine

Published by Bupa's Health Information Team, January 2011.

This factsheet is for people who would like information about the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

The HPV vaccine protects women against HPV. All girls aged 12 and 13 in the UK have been offered the vaccine since September 2008. A three-year catch-up programme to vaccinate girls under 18 began in 2009.

What is HPV?

HPV is a very common sexually transmitted infection. There are over a hundred different types of HPV. Around 13 of these can cause cancer – the other types are harmless or can cause genital warts. HPV often has no symptoms and clears up on its own. You may not even realise that you have it.

HPV affects both men and women. The risk of you getting HPV increases with the number of sexual partners you have. It also depends on the sexual history of your partners. Using a condom will reduce your risk of catching HPV, but doesn't offer complete protection. This is because the condom may not always cover the area of the body where the virus is.

HPV and cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer which affects the neck of your womb (cervix). Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV. HPV can infect the cells on the surface of your cervix and damage them, causing changes in their appearance. Over time, if left untreated, these changes can lead to cervical cancer.

Only certain types of HPV can cause cervical cancer. Most of these are different to the types that cause genital warts, so having genital warts doesn't always mean you have a higher risk of cancer.

What is the HPV vaccine?

There are two different types of the HPV vaccine. These are called Gardasil and Cervarix. The vaccine used in the UK national vaccination programme is Cervarix. This vaccine protects you against two specific types of HPV, which are most likely to cause cervical cancer. These are HPV types 16 and 18, which cause around seven out of 10 cases of cervical cancer. The vaccine doesn't provide protection against any other types of HPV.

Gardasil also protects you against types 6 and 11, which cause genital warts. It’s not available on the NHS but you can pay for Gardasil privately.
 

When is the HPV vaccine given?

The HPV vaccine is given to girls aged 12 and 13. This is because the vaccine is more effective if it's given to girls before they become sexually active.

The vaccine is given as three separate injections into your arm, over a period of six months. The second injection is given around one to two months after the first one. The third injection is then given about six months after the first.

The injections are given to girls at their school by a nurse. If you have a daughter in this age group, you will be sent a consent form and a letter explaining the vaccine by your daughter's school. The vaccine isn't compulsory and it's up to you whether your daughter has it or not.

If your daughter is aged under 18, she may be sent a letter as part of the three-year ‘catch-up’ programme which started in 2009. She may receive the vaccine from her GP rather than at school. Girls over the age of 16 don't need consent from a parent or guardian to have the vaccine.

Is the HPV vaccine effective?

The HPV vaccine is very effective. It's 99 percent effective at stopping any abnormalities developing within the cervix caused by HPV types 16 and 18. However, the vaccine doesn't protect you against all types of HPV, so it isn't guaranteed to prevent cervical cancer. It also doesn’t protect you if you already have HPV.

The HPV vaccine will protect you against getting the virus for at least six years. It's thought that protection will last for longer, possibly a lifetime, but as it's a recent vaccine there is not yet any data to prove this. Studies are in progress to monitor exactly how long protection will last for.

It can take between 10 and 20 years for cervical cancer to develop after you have been infected with HPV. So it may be many years before the HPV vaccine reduces the number of women with cervical cancer.

Side-effects of the vaccine

There may be some swelling, redness and pain around the area where the injection was given. Other mild side-effects can include: 

• headache
• fever
• sickness
• dizziness
• diarrhoea
• pains in your muscles

Some people have an allergic reaction to the vaccine, but this is rare. If you do, you may get a rash or some itching on an area of your body.
Very rarely, you may have a very bad reaction to the vaccine, called an anaphylactic reaction. This means that you may have difficulty breathing and may collapse. The nurse giving the injection will know how to deal with this and people usually recover within a few hours after treatment.

Is there anyone who shouldn't have the vaccine?

If you're pregnant, you shouldn't have the HPV vaccine. There is currently no known risk of vaccinating pregnant women, but it's recommended that you don't have the vaccine just as a precaution. If you're pregnant, or think that you might be, speak to a nurse or your GP for advice.

Other than pregnant women, there are very few people who can't have the vaccine. If you're concerned, speak to your GP or a nurse for advice.

Cervical cancer screening

The HPV vaccine doesn't protect you against all types of HPV or cervical cancer, so it's important for girls to have cervical screening (smear tests) when they are older. Cervical screening is currently offered to all women in the UK who are over the age of 25. You will usually need to have a cervical screening once every three years.

The idea of cervical screening is to detect any changes that may have occurred in the cells on the surface of your cervix early on. If these changes are noticed early enough, you can usually be treated successfully so that cervical cancer doesn't develop.

For answers to frequently asked questions on this topic, see Common questions.

For sources and links to further information, see Resources.