Gardasil for adults

Adults in the United States were allowed to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus

Olga Dobrovidova, N+1

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vaccination against human papillomavirus for men and women aged 27 to 45 years – previously it was recommended to do it only to people under 26 years of age. This is stated in a message on the FDA website, in addition, the New York Times newspaper tells about the vaccine.

Human papilloma viruses are a group of viruses with about 27 species and more than 600 strains (types), some of which have oncogenic properties: HPV, for example, is considered the main cause of cervical cancer. Viruses of this group have a long incubation period and are transmitted mainly sexually. To prevent infection with oncogenic HPV strains (and, in particular, to protect against cervical cancer) in 2006, the American company Merck & Co developed the Gardasil vaccine, then it had an analogue, Cervarix from the British company GlaxoSmithKline.

Now the Gardasil 9 vaccine, which protects against nine of the most dangerous strains from the point of view of cancer development, is approved for use in people from 27 to 45 years old – previously, vaccination was done only up to 26 years old. Vaccination is still recommended to be done in adolescence before the onset of sexual activity, since the vaccine does not protect against HPV strains that a person is already infected with. However, their diversity and the fact that Gardasil 9 protects against several strains at once makes vaccination justified for adults, according to FDA experts.

According to the newspaper, the vaccine was approved based on the data of clinical trials on women and men aged 27-45 years, which confirmed its safety and high effectiveness in preventing oncological diseases of the genitals and cervix. Adults will need three injections over several months. The most common side effects of vaccination are redness and swelling at the injection site and headaches.

Dr. Lois Ramondetta from the Cancer Research Center in Houston, who was interviewed by the New York Times, noted that the new FDA recommendations will better protect against cancer a generation of people who were not vaccinated in adolescence.

Two years ago, Japanese scientists published an article in the journal Scientific Reports, in which they demonstrated that a vaccine against the human papillomavirus can lead to brain damage. However, the experiments conducted by the authors of the article on mice did not correspond to the purpose of the study and contained methodological errors, as indicated by independent experts. As a result of the controversy that broke out, the editorial board of the journal decided to withdraw the controversial article, despite the protests of the authors.

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