MYTHS AND FACTS
MYTH
I’m the only person I know with HPV.
FACT
HPV is common.28
While many people diagnosed with HPV think they are alone, that’s far from the truth!
An estimated 80 % of reproductively active people will have HPV at some point in their lives. Since most HPV infections have no symptoms, a person who has been infected may never know about it.
MYTH
I am married, I don’t need to worry about reproductive tract infections (RTIs) or HPV.
FACT
Even married couples can get an RTI, just like HPV.28
Even married couples or spouses with just one partner are at risk of developing RTIs or HPV.
MYTH
If we have always used physical protection methods, we are not at risk of getting HPV.
FACT
When they’re used correctly, physical protection methods are highly effective. However, they are likely to be less effective when up against RTIs that spread through skin-to-skin contact, such as HPV.28
Contraceptives cannot provide 100 % protection against HPV.
MYTH
The HPV diagnosis can confirm when and where you got the infection.
FACT
Even after diagnosis with HPV, there is no way to pinpoint how long a certain infection has been there.28
The virus can remain in the body for anywhere between a few weeks, all the way to an entire lifetime, without any sign of its presence. An HPV infection may show symptoms like lesions, warts, or cervical abnormities after months or years.
MYTH
HPV vaccination is not safe.
FACT
The HPV vaccination is safe and does not cause any major health complications.29
Just like any other vaccine or medicine, the HPV vaccine may have minimal side effects (SEs) including, soreness or redness in the arm where the injection was administrated. Other common SEs include a low-grade fever, headache or tiredness, nausea, or muscle/joint discomfort. All these SEs are brief and last for a very short time. An allergic response is not common, if someone is allergic to any of the vaccine’s components, then the vaccine should be avoided.
There were years of studies conducted on the vaccine itself (at least 10 years) and it is strictly monitored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
MYTH
HPV vaccination can lead to infertility.
FACT
These claims are based on inaccurate evidence and are not supported by research or clinical studies.29
There is no link between HPV vaccination and its effect on fertility. In contrast, the HPV vaccine can help protect fertility by improving reproductive health issues arising from the cancers.
MYTH
HPV vaccination cannot protect against cancer.
FACT
HPV vaccination can prevent 90 % of all of the cancers by preventing the infections that cause them.29
Persistent cervical infections are caused by HPV types 16 and 18, as well as the pre-cancers associated with those persistent infections. Furthermore, a research study on HPV vaccines in males revealed that they can prevent warts.
MYTH
HPV vaccines were only tested against pre-cancers, and have not been shown to prevent cancer.
FACT
Because HPV cancers can take decades to develop, the initial clinical trials were conducted using pre-cancers as the endpoint.30
Monitoring over more than a decade of vaccine use has found a decrease in HPV-cancer rates in those who were vaccinated.
MYTH
The HPV vaccine doesn’t protect against enough strains of human papillomavirus to be worth getting.
FACT
The current HPV vaccine protects against nine different forms of HPV.29
There are nine strains of HPV that have been linked to more than 90 % of cervical tumours and other warts and cancer diagnoses. Immunization is extremely effective in preventing this very widespread viral illness, as well as warts and cancers.
MYTH
HPV is uncommon, and it’s unlikely that I’ll be infected, so there’s no need to get the HPV vaccine.
FACT
The most common Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI) is the HPV infection.29
RTIs account for approximately 14 million infections in the United States each year. It’s so common that almost every adult will indeed be exposed to at least one strain of HPV at some point of their lives. Over 80 million people in the U.S. are now infected.
MYTH
We have Pap smears, why do we need HPV vaccination?
FACT
Pap smear testing can only identify cervical pre-cancers, and does not address other HPV-related anogenital cancers.30
Pap smears have been very effective in reducing cervical cancer rates in the US. But, HPV vaccination can prevent more cancers than just cervical cancer and can also prevent the precancers that are detected via Pap smears. Pap smears do not prevent cervical cancers, but merely serve as a mechanism to treat high-grade lesions with no impact on cancer development.
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MYTH
The HPV vaccine is unnecessary because most people clear HPV infections naturally.
FACT
For HPV infections that do not clear, there is also often a rapid development of HPV-related cytological changes and genital wart development.30
Even if 90 % of HPV cases are cleared by the immune system, there still remains a significant amount of people with persistent infections that could progress to cytological abnormalities.
MYTH
11-12 years of age is too young to vaccinate.
FACT
HPV vaccine showed a high immune response at earlier ages.30
Clinical trial data has documented that receiving HPV vaccine prior to 15 years of age results in HPV antibody titers approximately 2x higher than when vaccination is provided at 15 years of age or older.