The one-shot cervical cancer vaccine paradigm

The WHO recommends that healthcare systems worldwide implement single-dose vaccine programs to help eliminate cervical cancer. On December 20, 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its recommendations for cervical cancer vaccines in a bid to boost vaccination coverage. The WHO now says that a one-dose schedule for girls ages 9–14 years adequately protects against human papillomavirus (HPV), and more specifically, the HPV 16 and HPV 18 strains. The insights and amendments came following findings from a meeting held by WHO’s independent expert advisory group in April 2022. Several cervical cancer vaccines are currently approved, including Merck’s nonavalent vaccine Gardasil 9 and GSK’s bivalent vaccine Cervarix. In September 2022, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved its first indigenously produced quadrivalent cervical cancer vaccine, developed by the Serum Institute of India. “The HPV vaccine works almost perfectly to prevent HPV infection, the necessary cause of cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers,” says Dr....