The HPV vaccine saves lives: The US must not mess with it

Anti-vaxxers in charge of public health might endanger women

- Lisa Jarvis

New research has again shown the enormous value of the HPV vaccine, which protects against the virus responsible for more than 90% of cervical cancer cases. Studies had already shown that the vaccine dramatically reduces rates of HPV infections and cervical cancer. Now comes evidence of what has long been suspected: The vaccine also saves lives. This message needs reinforcing in the US, where vaccination rates continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels—which were already behind health officials' targets for population-level coverage. Officials will now contend with a new administration that is stacking US public health agencies with leadership like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is well known for his skepticism of vaccines, including the HPV shot.

In a letter published in JAMA, researchers narrowed in on cervical cancer deaths among women who were younger than 25 between 2016 and 2021—the first group with widespread uptake of the vaccine as adolescents following its approval in 2006. While cervical cancer deaths among young women had been steadily dropping for years, thanks to screening, researchers found a sharper decline among this group, leading to 26 fewer deaths over that period.