From 2018 Gardasil®9 is the HPV vaccine used in Australia's National HPV Vaccination Program. Gardasil® (Seqirus/Merck & Co Inc) is a quadrivalent VLP HPV vaccine (4vHPV; types 16, 18, 6 and 11) registered in Australia for use in females aged 9–45 years and in males aged 9–26 years.
Vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years. Some adults ages 27 through 45 years might decide to get the HPV vaccine based on discussion with their clinician, if they did not get adequately vaccinated when they were younger.
ACIP does not recommend HPV vaccination for adults older than age 26 years. ACIP recommends HPV vaccination based on shared clinical decision making for individuals ages 27 through 45 years who are not adequately vaccinated. [1] HPV vaccines are not licensed for use in adults older than age 45 years.
Now, men and women up to age 45 can get vaccinated. US health officials have expanded the recommended age range for people receiving the HPV vaccine to protect against several types of cancer to people in their mid-40s.
Age restrictions: The HPV vaccine (Gardasil 9) is suitable for children over the age of nine, and women and men up to the age of 45. Additional precautions: Use a condom every time you have sex to reduce the chance of catching HPV as well as other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
All males and females ages 9–26 should get the HPV vaccine. It is most effective when given at ages 11–12. Unvaccinated men and women ages 27–45 should talk to their doctor about the benefits of the vaccine.
Women older than 26 are legally allowed to get the shot, but it's at their doctor's discretion. Since it's an "off-label" use, health insurance generally won't cover it, and it's costly. Some doctors will agree to provide it, some won't.
Catch-up HPV vaccination is now recommended for all persons through age 26 years. For adults aged 27 through 45 years, public health benefit of HPV vaccination in this age range is minimal; shared clinical decision-making is recommended because some persons who are not adequately vaccinated might benefit.
It is likely that someone previously infected with HPV will still get some residual benefit from vaccination, even if he or she has already been infected with one or more of the HPV types included in the vaccines.
Usually, the body's immune system gets rid of the HPV infection naturally within two years. This is true of both oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV types. By age 50, at least 4 out of every 5 women will have been infected with HPV at one point in their lives. HPV is also very common in men, and often has no symptoms.
HPV vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program through school-based programs for children aged 12-13.
HPV vaccine is safe and effective at preventing HPV-related infections and cancers. Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. Many people who get the HPV vaccine have no side effects at all. The most common side effects are usually mild, like a sore arm from the shot.
The two children began to lose their hair following the second HPV vaccine dose. Alopecia worsened following the third vaccine dose and then resolved spontaneously within a few months. In both cases, laboratory analysis and psychiatric evaluation excluded causes other than anti-HPV vaccine.
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 33,700 of these cancers by preventing the infections that cause them. That's the same as the average attendance for a baseball game.
Getting the HPV vaccine
The vaccine is offered routinely, through a school-based programme, to all males and females aged 12 to 13 years (school year 9). If you have been eligible for the vaccine but have not received it in school, you can still receive it free of charge until the age of 25, if you ask your doctor.
Sometimes, women over 45 have difficulty getting HPV vaccination with Gardasil-9 because insurance coverage is only available up to the recommended age of 45. Time constraints and the six-month vaccination schedule are additional barriers that prevent older women from getting Gardasil-9.
Most people with HPV do not know they have the infection. They never develop symptoms or health problems from it. Some people find out they have HPV when they get genital warts. Women may find out they have HPV when they get an abnormal Pap test result (during cervical cancer screening).
HPV (human papillomavirus) infection in women during or after menopause may actually be an infection that was acquired when they were younger.
The safety record of the HPV vaccine
They use lots of different kinds of safety data and continue to say the HPV vaccine is very safe. As with all medicine and vaccines, there are some mild side effects associated with the HPV vaccination.
Since 2012, individual case reports have linked vaccination against HPV with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), defined as dysfunction or depletion of ovarian follicles, menopausal symptoms and reduced fertility before the age of 40.
In the 2-year study period, 29% (485/1653) of SAEFVIC reports included 4vHPV vaccine. A total of 192 reports involved seizures and/or syncope. Of these, 51% (97/192) of patients had received 4vHPV vaccine (Box 2).
Gardasil®9 (Seqirus/Merck & Co Inc) is a 9-valent HPV vaccine (9vHPV; types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58) registered in Australia for use in females aged 9–45 years and males aged 9–26 years.
Part B also covers Human Papillomavirus (HPV) tests (as part of a Pap test) once every 5 years if you're age 30-65 without HPV symptoms. If your doctor or other qualified health care provider accepts assignment, you pay nothing for the following: the lab Pap test. the lab HPV with Pap test.
For patients with Medicare coverage, 98.53% of patients paid no out-of-pocket costs for a shot of GARDASIL 9. For those patients who did have out-of-pocket costs, 80% of patients paid between $0.01 and $297.97 for a shot of GARDASIL 9. IQVIA GARDASIL 9 OOP Costs, November 2021.