Experts Aren't Sure How Long Gardisal "Protects," Maybe Three Years

Girls May Need Fewer Gardasil Shots, Study Suggests – WebMD: "The researchers cautioned that while the antibody response to two doses of the vaccine looks promising, it doesn't prove that the shorter course actually protected against viral infections or cancers. A much longer study is under way to test that.

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'via Blog this'

(It protects a girl for only three years, but they are giving it to preteens? What is the point?)

"It raises the possibility that you could give two doses early in preadolescence, and then wait and give the third dose later in adolescence when the girls are going to be closer to the time when they're most likely to need protection against HPV," Dobson said.

"We need data on girls older than 13. Because even though the vaccine is recommended to be targeted to 11- to 12-year-olds, girls in the 13- to 17-year-old age range are actually most likely to be vaccinated. We would need to see data on immunogenicity or immune response in the 13- to 17-year-old age range," said Kahn.

And although protection from the vaccine appears to last a long time, doctors still aren't sure how long.

The researchers cautioned that while the antibody response to two doses of the vaccine looks promising, it doesn't prove that the shorter course actually protected against viral infections or cancers. A much longer study is under way to test that.

(The longer course has not been proven to protect against cancer, either.)