HPV Vaccine
HPV Vaccine – Beating Cervical Cancer
When a young person reaches the age of 12 to 13 and are in year 8 at school, they are offered the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine.
You will be sent an information pack from our Immunisation Team which tells you and your parents or carer information about this and it will include a leaflet and a consent form for your parents or carer to sign.
The HPV vaccine protects against cervical cancer.
Key facts:
- In the UK around 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year
- It is the most common cancer among women under the age 35
- Cervical cancer is caused by a very common virus called human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Cervical cancer develops in the cervix and is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus
- The vaccine used is Gardasil and this protects girls against four types of HPV; Type 16 and Type 18, which give a high risk for cervical cancer, and Type 6 and Type 11, which do not cause cervical cancer, but they do cause 90% of genital warts
- If you choose to have the vaccine you will receive two doses by injection. The two doses are given between six and 24 months apart
- The vaccine is normally be given at school
- The vaccine is not a replacement for safe sex and a healthy lifestyle.
Most people do not have any side effects from the vaccine. If they do they are mild and won’t last very long. These might include:
- Pain, swelling, redness/bruising or itching where you had the injection
- Headache
- Nausea
- Fever
- Dizziness.
If you do have any side effects that worry you or any of these reactions last more than a few days, you should tell your school nurse or GP.