HPV 6 and 11 – VAXOPEDIA

Believe it or not, the first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was approved way back in 2006.

And believe it or not, we are now on our third version of the vaccine, which provides protection against even more strains of HPV.

HPV Vaccine Timeline

So we have gone from:

Cervarix – HPV serotypes 16, 18 (2006)
Gardasil – HPV serotypes 6, 11, 16, 18 (2006)
Gardasil9 – HPV serotypes 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 (2014)

And with each new vaccine, there comes more protection against anal and genital warts and anal, genital, head and neck, and cervical cancers.

Gardasil9, the only HPV vaccine available in the United States, increases the protection level against cervical cancer from 70 to 90%!

Should You Get an Extra Dose of Gardasil9?

Has your child already finished their HPV vaccine series?

With which HPV vaccine?

To be clear, if they have finished the series, then they are considered to be fully vaccinated and protected.

“Persons who have completed a valid series with any HPV vaccine do not need any additional doses.”
National Cancer Institute on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccines

Remember, the key, high-risk strains that cause most HPV-associated cancer are HPV-16 and 18, which are present in all of the HPV vaccines.

The extra coverage in Gardasil9 to HPV strains 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 could prevent an additional 10% of invasive HPV associated cancers or about 3,800 cases each year though, mostly in women.

Should you get any extra doses of Gardasil9 for this extra coverage?

“Administration of a 3-dose regimen of 9vHPV vaccine to adolescent girls and young women 12-26 years of age who are prior qHPV vaccine recipients is highly immunogenic with respect to HPV types 31/33/45/52/58 and generally well tolerated.”
Garland et al on Safety and immunogenicity of a 9-valent HPV vaccine in females 12-26 years of age who previously received the quadrivalent HPV vaccine.

While safe to do and it works, there is no formal recommendation that anyone actually get any extra doses of Gardasil9 at this time.

It is something to consider if you want the extra protection though.

Will we get even more coverage in future HPV vaccines? The future might come in different types of vaccines or even in therapeutic vaccines. There doesn’t seem to be a new version of Gardasil with expanded strain coverage in the immediate pipeline though.

More on Getting an Extra Dose of HPV9

Gardasil is already on the immunization schedule, but are they going to make it one of your baby’s first vaccines?

That’s what some anti-vaccine websites are saying…

About Those HPV Vaccine Trials in Infants…

So is this just more anti-vaccine propaganda?

The clinical trial's inclusion criteria makes it clear that they are not studying the HPV vaccines on infants. — This clinical trial’s inclusion criteria makes it clear that they are not studying the HPV vaccines on infants.

Of course it is.

And like most anti-vaccine propaganda, there isn’t even a teeny tiny kernel of truth in their statements about Gardasil being “pushed on infants.”

While there was a study about giving Gardasil to kids who have already had at least three relapses of respiratory papillomatosis caused by HPV 6 or 11, those kids had to be between 1 and 17 years old.

No infants (children under 12 months old) were ever in this study which was supposed to start in 2014 in Budapest, Hungary.

“Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in children caused by HPV 6,11 can be a life threatening condition resulting in surgical interventions. The maturing and disintegrating papillomas are the sources for the subsequent HPV relapses and immunization might slow down or even prevent this ongoing process.

After an initial immunological and ear-nose-throat (ENT) assessment children with at least 3 relapses in their patient history will be vaccinated with 4-valent HPV vaccine according to the following schedule: 0., 2., 6. months. It will be followed by an immunological and 3 ENT examinations to assess response to vaccination.”

4-valent HPV Vaccine to Treat Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis in Children

Will Gardasil work for kids who already have recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, even though they got the HPV infection when they were born?

Hopefully it will.

“Any child presenting with a voice disturbance with or without stridor is recommended to have diagnostic flexible fiber-optic laryngoscopy. Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis should be considered in children when other common pediatric airway diseases either do not follow the natural history or do not respond to treatment of the common disorder.”

Zacharisen et al on Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis in Children: Masquerader of Common Respiratory Diseases

But there is already good news about Gardasil and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

A papilloma caused by HPV on the vocal cords of a child with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. (CC BY 4.0)

The widespread use of the Gardasil in teens and adults is already decreasing the number of kids being diagnosed with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis!

That makes sense, because if their mom doesn’t have an HPV infection when they are born, the infection can’t be passed on to them, later causing recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

That’s another benefit of getting vaccinated!

What to Know About Those HPV Vaccine Trials in Infants

The idea that the HPV vaccines are now being tested on infants is just another example of anti-vaccine propaganda. They are using a clinical trial of children and teens with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis to scare you away from vaccinating and protecting your children.