Announcement: Our clinic is now named Love & Joy Family Clinic, formerly Virtue Medical Clinic (Sunset Way), rest-assured that everything else remains the same.
Announcement: Our clinic is now named Love & Joy Family Clinic, formerly Virtue Medical Clinic (Sunset Way), rest-assured that everything else remains the same.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common virus infecting the reproductive tract, transmitted through skin to skin genital contact.
85% of sexually active persons will get HPV infection at some point in their life. In most persons, the body is able to clear the infection, but sometimes the infection persists and leads to HPV-related cancers over time.
HPV causes cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers in women, and in both men and women it can cause anal cancer and genital warts.
The good news is that these cancers or genital warts caused by HPV are now preventable with HPV vaccination.
There are currently two brands in Singapore: Cervarix (HPV2) from GSK, and Gardasil 9 (HPV9) from MSD.
Cervarix is the older vaccine which only covers 2 strains HPV 16 and HPV 18 accounting for 70% of cervical cancers, while Gardasil 9 covers 9 strains of HPV providing an additional 20% coverage against cancer-causing HPV types. As such, Gardasil 9 is approved for use for both men and women, to guard against genital warts and certain skin cancers from HPV.
Cervarix has been offered for free in MOE secondary schools since 2019 as part of the school vaccination program. It is also subsidised and medisave-claimable under the National Adult Immunisation Schedule (NAIS) for females only up to 26 years old.
Gardasil 9 is currently not under the National Adult Immunisation Schedule (NAIS), as such it is ineligible for subsidy or medisave-use
Only Gardasil 9 is approved for both males and females from the age of 9 up to 45 years of age.
When should I take my HPV vaccines and how many doses do I need ?
Cervarix is usually given at age 11 or 12 years, and 2 doses 6 months apart are required if done below the age of 13 years. For females 13 years and older, a 3-dose regimen is required.
Gardasil 9 can be done from the age of 9 years old, and 2 doses 6 months apart are required for boys and girls if started below the age of 15 years. For males and females aged 15 years and older, a 3-dose regimen is required.
Generally, the efficacy of the vaccination decreases with exposure to the virus through sexual or skin-to-skin contact, as such, it should be performed as early as possible.
Cost is the main consideration when deciding between Cervarix or the more expensive Gardasil 9 as Gardasil 9 is superior with wider coverage against 9 strains of cancer-causing HPV, and therefore better protection (90%) against not just cervical cancer but also against genital warts and other skin cancers, whereas Cervarix covers only 2 main cancer-causing strain HPV 16 and 18 (70% coverage).
In addition, Gardasil is approved for both males and females with a wider age range from 9 to 45 years old.
Cervarix is given for free in school and more affordable as it is subsidised for Singaporeans.
Both vaccines have good safety profiles and may cause mild side effects at most, such as soreness in the injection site (usually the arm), mild body aches and/or fatigue.
