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Original poster

HPV vaccine when you're under 45

24 replies

ayecarumbarumba · 07/05/2025 03:47

I just found out you can get this vaccine privately until you're 45. I feel really angry that this information wasn't made available when they made the vaccine available to school girls in 2008. I'd have gladly paid a couple of hundred pounds or however much it cost back then to get vaccinated. I thought it was only offered to school girls as it only worked if you started taking it before becoming sexually active. So I'm going to get it but does anyone know if it will be less effective given I'm almost at the age where you can't even get it privately? How does it work?

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 07/05/2025 06:02

Both boys and girls get vaccinated at school now.
It's free for men under 45 if they have sex with other men
I dont know why you're angry at not knowing you can get it privately. Why would the nhs advertise it?

DustyLee123 · 07/05/2025 06:03

The NHS don’t advertise that you can get your kids vaccinated against chicken pox privately either, are you angry about that?

Original poster
ayecarumbarumba · 07/05/2025 16:24

Yes, it's frustrating when there's a vaccine that could save your life that is presented as something that wouldn't help you because you're too old. Why couldn't the papers have included this detail with all the hundreds of column inches devoted to it? Rates have been soaring in older adults and I bet most didn't know about this.

OP posts:
Original poster
ayecarumbarumba · 07/05/2025 16:25

Because the vaccine's available for kids on the NHS it's not the same thing. It's the way it was reported as if it's only effective on children because they're not yet sexually active.

OP posts:
Almostwelsh · 07/05/2025 16:27

It's even more annoying if you're over 45 because you can't get it

RampantIvy · 07/05/2025 16:27

It's a shame this isn't widely known. A relative has had to have brutal treatment for a head and neck cancer resulting from HPV.

Original poster
ayecarumbarumba · 07/05/2025 16:35

Yes - I had cancer a few years ago (not head or neck thankfully) and I really want to do everything within my power to avoid having to go through that again. I'd have had this in 2008 if I'd known it was an option for adults too. In fact, every time I've read about it I've felt so frustrated that I just missed being the right age off so it's annoying to only find out I didn't. But yes, anyone over 45 has my sympathies. It's not a nice thing.

OP posts:
minnienono · 07/05/2025 16:36

Surely it’s discrimination to offer it to gay men but not others?

dementedpixie · 07/05/2025 17:49

I suppose they are targeting vaccination for those groups at most risk

Sidge · 07/05/2025 17:53

You can get lots of things privately but that doesn’t mean they’re clinically beneficial, just an opportunity for someone to make some money.

MirrorMirror1247 · 07/05/2025 17:58

I didn't know this! I left school a few years before they started vaccinating but I think I'm due a smear later this year, so I'll ask about getting the vaccine while I'm there. Thanks for letting us all know, OP 😊

RampantIvy · 07/05/2025 18:04

Sidge · 07/05/2025 17:53

You can get lots of things privately but that doesn’t mean they’re clinically beneficial, just an opportunity for someone to make some money.

The HPV vaccine is.

Original poster
ayecarumbarumba · 07/05/2025 18:08

Does anyone know if it becomes less beneficial the closer to 45 you get or if the risk reduction is still substantial?

OP posts:
Sidge · 07/05/2025 18:12

MirrorMirror1247 · 07/05/2025 17:58

I didn't know this! I left school a few years before they started vaccinating but I think I'm due a smear later this year, so I'll ask about getting the vaccine while I'm there. Thanks for letting us all know, OP 😊

You won’t be able to get it on the NHS if you’re 25 or over.

LennyBalls · 07/05/2025 18:16

It’s not true that only gay men can have the HPV vaccine. It used to be true but not anymore. Any man or woman up to the age of 25 can get the HPV vaccine at their GP surgery.

MirrorMirror1247 · 07/05/2025 18:19

Sidge · 07/05/2025 18:12

You won’t be able to get it on the NHS if you’re 25 or over.

Show quote history

That's OK, I don't mind paying for it if it's available to me. I know I'm lucky that I'm able to afford it, and it seems like a sensible thing to do.

Sidge · 07/05/2025 18:24

RampantIvy · 07/05/2025 18:04

The HPV vaccine is.

Show quote history

Not necessarily. If you’ve already been exposed to high risk HPV and your immune system does what it’s supposed to do, then it will have cleared it. If re-exposed then again your immune system should do its job.

The vaccine is most effective when given prior to commencement of any sexual activity. There is limited data in efficacy in older women, and it’s understood that it’s likely that efficacy is reduced when age 45 or older.

Original poster
ayecarumbarumba · 07/05/2025 18:27

Thanks RampantIvy. I suspected that but I'll get it anyway as a precaution.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 07/05/2025 19:09

LennyBalls · 07/05/2025 18:16

It’s not true that only gay men can have the HPV vaccine. It used to be true but not anymore. Any man or woman up to the age of 25 can get the HPV vaccine at their GP surgery.

In Scotland it seems you need to be in an eligible cohort to get the vaccine up until age 25. My ds wasn't in the eligible year group when it started being given to boys so he hasn't had it.

If you’ve left school and you didn’t get your HPV vaccine when you were eligible, you may still be able to get it up until you turn 25.
This only applies to:

  • people who are currently eligible
  • boys who became eligible from the 2019/2020 academic year
  • girls under 25 who were eligible under routine and catch up programmes introduced in 2008
dementedpixie · 07/05/2025 19:15

Even in England it is limited to boys born after a certain date

HPV vaccine when you're under 45
SapporoBaby · 08/05/2025 05:19

Newspapers are written by humans with access to the exact same public health information that you are. Maybe the writers of said stories didn’t realise this either… they’re not omnipotent.

LennyBalls · 08/05/2025 05:34

Even in England it is limited to boys born after a certain date
This information is incorrect and out of date.

dementedpixie · 08/05/2025 05:42

LennyBalls · 08/05/2025 05:34

Even in England it is limited to boys born after a certain date
This information is incorrect and out of date.

Tell that to the nhs site then!

Original poster
ayecarumbarumba · 08/05/2025 10:44

SapporoBaby · 08/05/2025 05:19

Newspapers are written by humans with access to the exact same public health information that you are. Maybe the writers of said stories didn’t realise this either… they’re not omnipotent.

No, but their job is to find these things out!

OP posts:
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