Gardasil protects against HPV types 16 and 18 which cause 70% of all cervical cancers. It also prevents types 6 and 11 which cause 90% of genital warts. All four types are sexually transmitted.
One risk of Gardicil is the “implied protection” risk. Someone get’s a vaccine, assumes they are good to go, and forgoes testing that would catch HPV or cancer.
This is a legitimate concern and will require patient counseling and education.
If everybody got the yearly exams that are recommended, Gardicil probably wouldn’t save enough extra people to be worth the risk.
30% of women who develop cervical cancer in this country are screened regularly. The Pap Smear is not perfect. And, of course, many women are not screened as they should be.
Thanks for your informative posts on this topic.