Although around 20 million Americans contract a RTI every year, there are many people who think that only “someone else”, like people who have multiple partners, intimate relations outside of marriage, or a different lifestyle are at risk.

The reason is simply that they do not cover the entire genital area, and contact with the unprotected areas can transmit HPV.

The virus can remain in the body for anywhere between a few weeks, all the way to an entire lifetime, without any sign of its presence. A genital HPV infection may show up symptoms like lesions, warts, or cervical abnormalies after months or years. Its ability to lie silent for all this time makes genital HPV very mysterious.

Just like any other vaccine or drug, the HPV may have minimal side effects (SEs) including, soreness or redness in the arm where the injection was administrated. Other common SEs include a low-grade fever, headache or tiredness, nausea, or muscle/joint discomfort. All these SEs are brief and last for a very short time. An allergic response is not common, if someone is allergic to any of the vaccine’s components, then the vaccine should be avoided.

There were years of studies conducted on the vaccine itself (at least 10 years) and it is strictly monitored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A recent study of more than 200,000 women discovered no link between the HPV vaccine and premature overian failure. In contrast, the HPV vaccine can help protect fertility by preventing gynaecological issues associated with cervical cancer therapy.

Persistent cervical infections are caused by HPV types 16 and 18, as well as the pre-cancers associated with those persistent infections. Furthermore, a research study of HPV vaccines in males revealed that they can prevent genital warts.

Monitoring over more than a decade of vaccine use has found a decrease in HPV-cancer rates in those who were vaccinated.

There is no evidence that receiving HPV vaccine leads to an increase in sexual behavior. In reality, a recent study of over 500,000 people indicated that there was no boost in sexual activity following HPV immunization. In fact, vaccinated people participated in safer intercourse.

These nine HPV types have been linked to more than 90% of genital wart cases, 90% of cervical tumors, and 70% of anal cancer diagnoses. This immunization is extremely effective in preventing this very widespread viral illness, as well as genital warts and cancers.

RTIs accounts for approximately 14 million additional infections in the United States each year. It’s so common that almost every man and woman will indeed be exposed to at least one strain of HPV at some point of their lives. Over 80 million people in U.S. are now infected.

Pap smears have been very effective at reducing cervical cancer rates in the US. But, HPV vaccination can prevent more cancers than just cervical cancer, and can also prevent the precancers that are detected via Pap smears.

Pap smears have not prevented any cases of cervical cancers, but merely served as a mechanism to treat high-grade lesions with no impact on cancer development.

While the 90% clearance estimate represents a substantial proportion of HPV infections, things need to be put into perspective. Even if 90% of the cases are cleared by the immune system, there will still be millions of people with persistent infections that could progress to cytological abnormalities.

Clinical trial data has documented that, for both males and females, receipt of HPV vaccine prior to 15 years of age results in HPV antibody titers approximately two-fold higher than when vaccination is provided at 15 years of age or older.