Almost all Australian schools have chosen to participate in the National HPV Vaccination Program.
Over 9 million doses of the vaccine have been given to girls and young women in Australia.
Research studies have shown early signs of the vaccine's success including:
- a 77% reduction in HPV types responsible for almost 75% of cervical cancer
- almost 50% reduction in the incidence of high-grade cervical abnormalities in Victorian girls under 18 years of age
- a 90% reduction in genital warts in heterosexual men and women under 21 years of age.
As cervical cancer usually develops over 10 or more years, the role of the vaccine in reducing cervical cancer will not be evident for some time.
In time, this will mean a decline in abnormal Cervical Screening Test results, and fewer women going through the stress of the tests and treatment that follow. The vaccine has also brought a significant decline in genital warts in young men and women.