The HPV Vaccine, Explained

Changes to the childhood vaccination schedule are sowing confusion nationwide. 

New vaccine recommendations issued in recent months by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—who is notoriously anti-vaccine—suggest fewer shots for most kids. The updated guidelines also changed when some vaccines should be given. 

Many of these policies are not based on science, and major medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics have urged parents and doctors to continue vaccinating their children per previous guidance, in an unusual break with the CDC. 

But one change is actually based on valid research: The suggestion that people may only need one shot of the HPV vaccine. 

I am an ardent supporter of vaccines (thank you science for protecting us from diseases that killed our ancestors) and a sex educator who has been writing about the HPV vaccine for decades. But I know that many parents—like the one I recently sat next to in the pediatrician’s waiting room who said she wasn’t antivax, but was skipping that shot—just don’t know enough about HPV to make an informed decision.  

This column answers some common questions you may have about the HPV vaccine, whether you’re a parent considering the shot for your kids or an adult wondering if it’s too late to get it yourself.

What is HPV?

There are more than 200 types of HPV, or human papillomavirus. The virus is easily transmitted from skin-to-skin. Some types cause the warts you might get on your hands or feet. 

Other types of HPV are known to infect the sensitive, wetter skin—or mucosal membranes—found in our genitals, anus, and throat. These roughly 40 kinds of HPV are sexually transmitted. HPV is so contagious that most sexually active people will get it at some point in their lives. 

Is HPV dangerous? 

Usually, no. In most cases, our immune systems clear the virus without us ever knowing we had it. 

But some people get persistent infections that the body can’t vanquish. There are 12 “high risk” types of the virus. Persistent infections with these types can lead to cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, or throat.  

What is the HPV vaccine? 

The HPV vaccine was first introduced in 2006. The version available in the United States today, Gardasil 9, protects against nine high-risk types of the virus, including the two that cause most cases of genital warts and the two that cause most cases of cervical cancer.

Twenty years of research shows that Gardasil works to prevent not only HPV infection but also cervical cell changes that can cause cancer. Scientists believe that widespread vaccination could prevent 90 percent of HPV-related cancers.

Who should get the HPV vaccine?

Almost everyone. 

Major medical organizations and health centers like the Cleveland Clinic recommend that all young people—regardless of sex or gender—get the HPV shot at age 11 or 12, though they can get it as young as 9. The goal is to vaccinate everyone before they become sexually active. 

The vaccine is recommended for anyone 26 or younger who didn’t get vaccinated as a tween, and approved up to age 45. Unvaccinated people between 27 and 45 should ask their health-care provider about it. 

How many HPV shots do I need?

When Gardasil was first introduced, everyone was advised to get three shots a few months apart. Then research suggested two doses were probably enough, especially for young teens. 

In its new recommendations, the CDC suggests everyone should now just get one shot. This change is based on December 2025 research from the National Institutes of Health that found one shot provides as much protection as two. 

Some doctors remain skeptical of these new federal guidelines, given that they were released alongside other big changes to vaccine recommendations based on faulty science. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Cancer Society, for example, still recommend more shots. As always, ask your health provider what is best for you. 

If I got vaccinated for HPV, do I still need to get screened for cervical cancer? 

Yep. Everyone who has a cervix needs to get screened every three to five years either starting at 21 or 25 (guidelines vary).

Depending on your age and medical history, your screening might involve either a Pap test or an HPV test. Both tests use a brush or tiny spatula to collect cells from on or near the cervix. The HPV test looks for high-risk types of the virus. The Pap test looks for precancerous changes to cervical cells called “dysplasia,” which can be treated before they become cancer. 

These tests are usually done by a health-care provider, but the FDA recently approved HPV test kits that let you collect your own sample. The samples are then sent to a lab for analysis. If that test comes back positive, you need to follow up with a provider. 

I’m not your mom, but if I were…

When my daughters got their HPV shots, I posted pictures of each of them online despite the fact that they were dressed only in paper gowns. 

They weren’t on social media yet—both got their shots at the CDC-recommended age of 11—so I could get away with it, and I was just that excited. I know how easily HPV spreads. I know it causes cancer. A vaccine that can prevent my kids from getting cancer felt like something to celebrate. 

I realize not all parents feel that way. Some may have bought into the growing anti-vax movement that uses junk science to paint all vaccines as more dangerous than helpful. Others may believe the misconception that vaccinating young people against a sexually transmitted infection will encourage them to have more sex. (Spoiler alert: Tons of research shows this doesn’t happen.)  

From its launch, the HPV vaccine has been caught in a perfect storm of anti-vaccine and anti-sex politics. In 2011, Republican presidential candidates even traded jabs about it during a debate. 

By the time my oldest got the vaccine in 2017, health-care providers and sex educators like me had learned some important lessons about HPV messaging for parents: Talk more about cancer and less about sex.   

My pediatrician, for example, simply told me that my kid was eligible for the “cervical cancer shot.”  Obviously, he didn’t need to convince me. But I’m hoping the C-word is enough to persuade other parents that their kids need the HPV shot—and maybe you do, too.

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