HPV vaccines are immunogenic, effective, safe and well tolerated up to 45 years of age, even though have the maximum effect if administered before becoming sexually active.
It is important for youngsters to get vaccinated at an early age because the response of the immune system -and therefore the production of protective antibodies –is greater than that observed in older people. Considering also that the HPV vaccine is a means of prevention and to act with maximum efficiency it must be administered before exposure to the HPV virus, getting vaccinated before becoming sexually active is recommended. The vaccine has however been shown to be effective even in sexually active men and women. So having already become sexually active is not a contraindication to HPV vaccination, but by getting vaccinated before the benefit is greater.
HPV vaccines, and in particular the most recently developed, the nonavalent HPV vaccine, administered before exposure to the HPV virus, prevents precancerous genital lesions and thus significantly reduces the future possibility of developing a malignant neoplasm.
