Trans patients access to HPV vaccine up to 45, women only 25.

[worriedaboutray]

Girls have the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer at school and there's a catch up programme for those who missed it, but it only goes up to age 25.

However, trans women and trans men can have it up to age 45.

Can someone explain why I, a bisexual woman aged 30, cannot be vaccinated but a trans man (a.k.a. biological woman) who has sex with men can?

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/who-should-have-hpv-cervical-cancer-cervarix-gardasil-vaccine/

The only logic I can see for the vaccination not being available to anyone who has sex with men is that women over a certain age are assumed not to be having many partners whereas males/men are.

It makes no sense to me.

Heterosexual woman aged 25+: no protection
Heterosexual man aged 25+: no protection

Heterosexual girl/woman aged up to 25: vaccine
Heterosexual boy/man aged up to 25: herd immunity + younger boys vaccinated from Sept 2019 onwards

MSM: vaccine

Trans women up to 45: vaccine
Trans men up to 45: vaccine

So the only unprotected group is straight women and men 25+, and cervical cancer generally affects women in their late 20s. How is this right?

Bloody diabolical.
My daughter was just outside the first group to receive the HPV vaccine and I paid for her to have it privately.
Is this an option for you, OP, for the sake of your own health?
I fully understand that this is not a solution to the wider issue which is utterly unfair and unreasonable. Makes my blood boil.

I don't understand this:
"Trans women (people who were assigned male at birth) are eligible for the HPV vaccine if their risk of getting HPV is similar to the risk of MSM who are eligible for the HPV vaccine."

Who decides if their risk is similar to MSM [men who have sex with men]? Do they self ID?

I really want to pay for the jab but it's so expensive and my circumstances don't allow for it. I already had one high risk HPV strain and had to go to colonoscopy, where dyskaryotic cells were removed by punch biopsy.

I cannot understand the logic behind leaving women 25+ vulnerable but catering for other groups up to 45.

*colposcopy! Bloody autocorrect

It is because when men transition, as we know, they become girls not women so it would obviously be gender assignment discrimination not to treat them like teenage girls. I am sure EHRC have written it into their guidelines somewhere....

It is because when men transition, as we know, they become girls not women so it would obviously be gender assignment discrimination not to treat them like teenage girls. I am sure EHRC have written it into their guidelines somewhere....

I hope you're taking the piss there. Although I wouldn't be surprised if this were true.

How about instead of offering unnecessary vaccines to people that don't need them, they spend that money offering smears to all ages of women?

Totally sympathise. I paid for vaccine for teen DS as he misses out. Herd immunity isn't good enough if he's going to travel.

To any mothers of teenage/young adult sons who missed out can I encourage you to pay to give them that protection. I work in a nhs department where we see quite a few middle aged men coming in with "virally driven" tongue/throat cancers, (the Michael Douglas variety).
It's outrageous the nhs isn't giving boys this protection.

It's probably a matter of risk assessment and cost. Like how the gardasil vaccine was only offered to teenage girls until very recently, so fuck gay/bisexual men.

You can pay for a course, I did as it meant I could opt for the version the NHS doesn’t use as it covers more strains. Obviously there is no point if you haven’t been to the GUM clinic to confirm you’re negative.

I know it's been said before, but I hate seeing the NHS using 'assigned at birth' when they know it's incorrect.

I'd be interested to see the evidence-base for the recipients of this vaccine.

How about instead of offering unnecessary vaccines to people that don't need them, they spend that money offering smears to all ages of women?

They already do offer smears to women of all ages. I would prefer the chance of having the HPV vaccine over the age of 12 or whatever it is. Smears are shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted and do not work for everyone.

I would prefer the chance of having the HPV vaccine over the age of 12 or whatever it is. Smears are shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted and do not work for everyone.

Especially women who skip their smears because it reminds them of a rape or sexual assault.

They’re making decisions based on relative risk (essentially cost effectiveness for the NHS), and perhaps some assumptions that trans people are more likely to be sexually promiscuous? Which is kinda like actual transphobia IMO unless it’s backed up by solid stats of increased HPV rates in that population.

On a practical note for those of us too old to have been vaccinated and only on 3 yearly smears etc - you can get a private home test to check if you are positive for any of the high risk HPV strains, it wasn’t too expensive and easy to do, just wiggle a swab up there and send it back in the post. Luckily mine was negative no idea how given my wild youth, go immune system and as I’m in a stable relationship I’ve left it at that. If I was positive I’d probably have chosen to pay privately for annual smears. If I do ever become single and dating again in the future then might look into vaccination.

Obv this is only helpful if you can afford the private testing - it’s not horrifically expensive though in the grand scheme of things.

This is ridiculous as others have said.

Could you ID as a male, just for a bit and get vaccinated?

The vaccines sub-committee meeting minutes are here if anyone wants to trawl through them for the references re the decision. Had a quick skim and they refer to a PHE model, not sure where that is written up.

They’re making decisions based on relative risk (essentially cost effectiveness for the NHS), and perhaps some assumptions that trans people are more likely to be sexually promiscuous? Which is kinda like actual transphobia IMO unless it’s backed up by solid stats of increased HPV rates in that population

Surely it must be the other way round: they must be assuming much less sexual activity? The reason why girls are vaccinated at 12 is to try and catch them before they are sexual active. Surely an older population who have been sexually promiscuous are much much more likely already to be infected invalidating the vaccine?

Surely it must be the other way round: they must be assuming much less sexual activity? The reason why girls are vaccinated at 12 is to try and catch them before they are sexual active.

It's not transwomen, it's all men who have sex with men who get the vaccine to 45. It would be nuts for the NHS to treat trans women as women in this context. The quoted bit just explains why they are treating TWAM.

I would assume the rationale is that gay men (statistically, on average) have sex with lots of partners at an age when most of the population have stopped. Thus, if they have not caught the virus, they are at higher risk of catching it and passing it on.

Another vote for identifying as trans for long enough to get the jab... if they’re mad enough to differentiate then use it to your advantage...

Can you self identify as a trans man then go back after your shot? Acceptance without exception, etc.

Oh clearly others got there first :D