Vaccination against cervical cancer/HPV

[nooshoo]

This vaccination protects against a sexually transmitted virus which can lead to cancer and other problems. Does anyone know why is it recommended as standard for children from 11 years, is it because there is perceived realistic risk of sexual contact occuring from this age?

Well, no. Then you're not long-term celibate.

If they thought she was they wouldn’t have been giving her the vaccine at that age.

Though if she ends up in A&E they will ask her if she might be pregnant.

Well said OP 👏👏 I find 'narky' seems to be the default setting on here. Same with the person who said 'just Google it'. If we all just 'Googled it', discussion forums like MN would likely cease to exist!

MMR includes measles and mumps so I presume that's why they're given to smaller children.

And they can pass rubella onto their mothers.

I think they would have still given her the vaccine, even if it works better before the first sexual experience.
I'm in another country and my 50 year old friend was advised to have the vaccine!

Any adult man not vaccinated because it was only given to girls before MMR could pass it on to the mother presumably. But most of the mothers would be themselves vaccinated.

I'm not really asking a question for a doctor, I'm encouraging people to reflect on the statements some people are making that the HPV disappears as I'm not certain that is the case.

I'm not really sure what the OP is hoping to get out of this thread, but just in case the question was genuine, the HPV vaccine can be given at any age, but for maximum effectiveness it should be given between ages 9-14 (approx) which is a combination of maximum immunogenicity of an immature immune system, plus behavioural factors i.e. making sure you've had the full course a good period of time before any possible exposure. Plus having to fit it in with the rest of the school immunisation programmes.

If you're really interested in the ages that most kids start having sex, check out the NATSAL results. They publish about every 10 years or so and it's a fascinating read. It;s a survey of UK sexual attitudes and lifestyles. There is a question in there about age at 'sexual debut' i.e. when people have their first sexual experiences

@MatildaMovesMountains 1000000% I'm surprised MNHQ have left it up when it's obvious bait and the op flounced off after throwing the cat amongst the pigeons.

Fortunately I don't get triggered too easily. I'm more amazed with people who think that it's somehow " dirty" if you have HPV and associated cancers and must have slept around- which is a heap of bullshit

My daughters have had the jabs, they were amongst the first cohort to get them I think. They weren't about when I was a teenager. My granddaughter has also had it

Yes-
info was sent about the vaccine and also that any children who are deemed competent would be able to consent (or revoke consent).

i consented- but I know from other parents that those who had declined had a phone call a week before from the team doing the jabs to discuss in more detail. I know one child who consented against their parents wishes and had the jab on the day.

there were links with info on consent on the process but had to admit I didn’t read that as I was providing consent.

Incorrect: there are other causes of cervical cancer besides HPV. As such any woman who has a cervix still needs to get a smear test whether they have the vaccine or not. Remember: the vaccine doesn't just prevent against cervical cancer. Plus, although the HPV vaccine is very effective, there is always the very slight chance that it might not be. Getting a smear test is easy - so keep getting them. They save lives. Moreover, during the examination the doctor also should be examining the area for other oddities that shouldn't be there.

It may be worth just having a think that your posts could be read as quite combative/curt and people are responding in kind.

The Rubella vaccine is not just to prevent the person receiving the vaccine from being damaged by german measles, it's also to make sure that there are fewer people with active german measles infections who could infect a currently pregnant woman who for whatever reason hadn't been vaccinated.

Let me give you an example:
I actually had german measles when I was a kid (probably 5 or 6 years old if memory serves): I felt absolutely great! And had a superb cartoon-type rash on my tummy that was vivid red spots that didn't hurt at all, and I didn't feel sick. They looked like someone had painted them on! As such I was all set to go to school to show off my fantastic spots...BUT I wasn't permitted to go anywhere near the place because of the chance that there might be some pregnant mums or pregnant teachers there that I might interact with - and they wanted to prevent any kind of spread.
As such I got to have time off school (which was boring - I couldn't see my friends) AND ice cream because people thought I was sick (but I didn't feel gross! Yay!)

Are you in the UK / England op? The vaccine is given to year 8 students so they're 12 and 13. A follow up vaccine is given the following school year when students are 13 and 14.

Make sense? Yes?

Not 11, not in the UK.

No, I don't buy this argument because boys weren't vaccinated against rubella.

the problem is that you are assuming something that isn't actually true: Just because you have a negative smear test does not mean that you don't have HPV anymore. People can carry the HPV virus but never have a positive smear test result. So if you are basing your claim that you are "free" or "clear" of HPV on the fact you haven't had a positive smear test or any genital warts for a couple of years then, sadly, you are drawing a false conclusion. There is no routine test available that tells you that you no longer are a carrier of the HPV virus. That's why the vaccine is so important.

The HSV virus is a useful comparison here: most people have the strain that causes cold sores. But just because you haven't had a cold sore in years doesn't mean you no longer have the virus.

Doctors don't generally do smear tests in the UK, it's usually the nurses.
Also, you've missed the previous poster's point that cervical cells are now only looked at when the woman is hpv positive. This is quite a recent change.

Smear tests have changed somewhat. They’re only testing for the presence of some strains of HPV in the UK now.

Only if they find HPV will they go on to test the sample for cell changes.

Non-HPV cervical cancer is thankfully very rare, though.

No, presumably it's an age where it's safe to assume that the vast majority have not started to have sex. Why would you wait until the ones who have sex earlier have already started to do so?

I believe it's just one vaccine now (it was two when mine had it).

Incorrect: there are many reasons why they may not have vaccinated boys at the time you are concerned with: they may have only tested and received approval to give that particular vaccine to the girls of that age. The NHS may have only had limited funding available, and as such decided to limit the provision at that point in time to girls of that age.

The fact is that we now vaccinate boys against german measles. Why? So that women who are pregnant are protected. So, my argument is correct. I had german measles at the time the MMR vaccine was available - but I hadn't been given the rubella vaccine because of a medical issue - that meant I could only - at that time - have the mumps and measles vaccination - not the rubella one.

Yikes are you really that bothered about who does the smear test? I've always gotten mine done by a doctor - but each to their own - it doesn't really matter who does it as long as the person is trained to do them and does them correctly, and is trained to notice any other visual abnormalities.

A lot of this is taking bout consensual sexual acivity.

We shouldn't forget that sadly some children will be sexually abuse.

Im in favour of anything to minimise harm to children.