Preventing cervical cancer requires herd immunity, which can be easily achieved by combating misinformation about the human papillomavirus vaccine. Linda Eckert, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington, talked about this daily mail.
Cervical cancer causes thousands of deaths, but almost all of them are preventable. The truth is that 99% of these cancer cases are caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). It is very common: 80% of women have been infected at some time. “High-risk” HPV is easier to kill than flu or Covid-19 because it doesn’t mutate as frequently.
“If we can prevent HPV infection, we can also prevent cervical cancer. That’s why we got the HPV vaccine. When given to girls aged 12-13 (before exposure to the virus), it prevents cervical cancer at a staggering rate of 90%. By comparison, doctors are pleased that the flu vaccine is 50-60% effective,” Eckert explained.
WHO launched a call to eliminate cervical cancer in 2020, and all 194 member countries supported it. However, the incidence of cervical cancer continues to increase worldwide.
The HPV vaccine is safe, but fewer than one in five girls worldwide are currently vaccinated, including in developed countries. While challenges in poorer countries stem from a lack of money or infrastructure, the HPV vaccine rollout in developed countries is hampered by myths. These include the belief that the vaccine may encourage early sexual activity because it is associated with a sexually transmitted virus. Extensive research has shown that this is not the case. Regarding post-vaccination pain and illness, statistics in the US show that serious side effects occur in 0.0018% of vaccinated people. The actual incidence of side effects may be even lower because some of these events may not be caused by the vaccine.
The expert stated that disinformation is a deadly game in which lives are at stake. In Denmark, vaccination quickly reached 90% of 12-year-old girls, but vaccine fears spread in 2014 and the rate dropped to 40%. Fears turned out to be unfounded and the Danes launched a public awareness campaign in 2017, resulting in coverage returning to 80% within a year. For similar reasons, vaccination rates in Japan dropped from 74% in 2013 to less than 1% in 2016. But 26,000 Danish girls and an entire generation of Japanese women have lost nearly perfect protection against cervical cancer.
Along with vaccination and combating misinformation, regular screening is also important: delay can lead to death or the need for debilitating cancer treatment.
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