Soon after the UK implemented its first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programme to treat cervical cancer, the media started a scaremongering campaign about the drugs.
It all happened in 2009 when a teenage schoolgirl died shortly after getting vaccinated.
Media across the UK went into a frenzy and demonstrated the worst side of irresponsible reporting.
And soon after that, it was found that the vaccination had nothing to do with death.
The girl had a different fatal condition that caused her untimely demise.
But the whole media fiasco around the incident led many to doubt and turn away from the HPV vaccine irrationally.
Now over a decade later, it is time to finally tell everyone who’ll lend an ear how much benefit the vaccine can cause.
That’s because just a study published just last month has finally revealed that the HPV virus is genuinely effective in saving lives and significantly offsetting the impact of cancerous cells in the body.
The statistical shift this groundbreaking study predicts is simply astounding.
It proved the vaccine to reduce cervical cancer rates by close to 90% in women in their 20s if given the vaccine at the age of 12 or 13.
The study should go a long way in limiting (and hopefully eventually ending the disease).
Now a little about HPV for your awareness.
HPV causes almost every single cervical cancer.
This was proven by UK researchers more than twenty years ago.
There are two strains of the virus (HPV 16 and HPV 18) that result in cancer.
With vaccination, abnormal shifts in cervical cells are avoided leading to more excellent health and a significantly lower chance of getting cancer.
Research in the past had already established the effectiveness of HPV vaccination in battling other related diseases.
The list included genital warts and precancerous cellular modifications within the cervical area.
But the link between the vaccine and cancer treatment had remained elusive.
There was one study in Europe in 2020 that showed a 63% decline in cervical cancer due to HPV vaccination.
However, this recent study is UK-based, so it should have a more significant local impact.
Not only that, it validates the impact of the Ceravix vaccine produced by GlaxoSmithKline, which was at the heart of the controversy back in 2009.
And the study’s researchers looked at data spanning over a decade and analyzed a wide range of age groups (20-64).
The results were excellent for all three groups sorted by ages at which vaccination was given, as shown below:
- A 34% drop in cervical cancer in those who received vaccination between the ages of 16 and 18.
- A 62% drop in cervical cancer in those who received vaccination between the ages of 14 and 16.
- A 90% drop in cervical cancer in those who received vaccination between the ages of 12 and 13.
With this remarkable outcome, I urge all my fellow Brits to spread the word and not let the media get in the way of this awareness this time around!