What you need to know
- HPV is very common: About eight in 10 sexually active people will get it at some point in their lifetime. It’s the leading cause of cervical cancer and is linked to six types of cancer that kill thousands in the U.S. each year.
- HPV vaccination can prevent most cervical cancers and reduce the risk of other HPV-related cancers. Getting vaccinated at a younger age offers the strongest protection.
- Nearly 20 years after the first HPV vaccine was approved, dozens of studies have shown that the vaccines are safe, with no evidence of serious health concerns.
- HPV vaccination has put some countries on track to eliminate cervical cancer, but disparities due to cost and availability persist globally.
Human papillomavirus causes 99 percent of cervical cancers, along with anal, penile, vulval, vaginal, and head and neck cancers. The virus is extremely common, affecting around 80 percent of sexually active people.
The first HPV vaccine, approved in the U.S. for adolescent girls and young women in 2006, reduces the risk of HPV infection and HPV-related cancers. Now, multiple HPV vaccines are available worldwide for girls and boys, all providing safe and strong protection.
HPV vaccination is so effective at preventing cervical cancer that the World Health Organization has set a goal to eradicate it by the end of the century. Thanks to HPV vaccines and improved screening, several countries are already on track to eliminate cervical cancer within a decade.
Here are four facts about the remarkable success story of the HPV vaccine.
HPV vaccines reduce the risk of cervical cancer by up to 90 percent.
Studies in multiple nations show HPV vaccines are highly effective against infection and cervical cancer. For every 1,000 children vaccinated against HPV, about 17 deaths from cervical cancer are prevented.
Vaccination is most effective before adolescents are sexually active and at higher risk of HPV exposure. HPV vaccines are up to 90 percent effective against cervical cancer in girls vaccinated before age 15. Additionally, a 2024 study found that HPV vaccination reduced the risk of head and neck cancers in men by 56 percent.
Among the first groups of U.S. women vaccinated against HPV in early adolescence, rates of cervical cancer have declined significantly. A 2025 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found cervical precancers (abnormal growths that can become cancer if untreated) decreased by 80 percent in the group most likely to be vaccinated.
The study tracked cervical precancer diagnosis in women aged 20 and older from 2008 to 2022. Among the two youngest groups, cervical precancer diagnoses decreased an average of 10 percent and 2.5 percent per year, respectively.
Higher HPV vaccination rates are linked to lower cervical cancer rates.
A 2026 American Cancer Society study found that cervical cancer rates fell nationwide by 27 percent in women ages 20 to 31—those most likely to have been vaccinated as adolescents—in the 15 years after the HPV vaccine was introduced.
The study found that at the state level, higher HPV vaccination rates were associated with lower cervical cancer rates. Each 10 percent increase in vaccination corresponded with an 11.5 percent reduction in cervical cancer risk after adjusting for cancer screening rates.
Differences in vaccination rates across states have led to significant disparities in cervical cancer risk. In some states, cervical cancer rates dropped by over 50 percent; in others, rates are decreasing at a much slower pace—or not at all.
“Improving HPV vaccination uptake in states with currently low coverage is essential to reducing these disparities and represents a key step toward achieving cervical cancer elimination at the national level,” said Hyuna Sung, the study’s senior author, in an American Cancer Society statement.
HPV vaccine safety has been studied in dozens of trials over the past two decades.
The safety and effectiveness of HPV vaccines have been tested in over 70 randomized controlled trials—the gold standard of clinical research.
Additionally, dozens of large-scale studies and global safety analyses over the last 20 years have repeatedly shown that HPV vaccines are safe.
In 2017, a WHO review of safety data from millions of HPV doses across multiple countries found HPV vaccines to be “extremely safe.” A 2020 analysis of HPV vaccines found “no increased risk of developing serious [adverse events].”
More recently, a 2026 analysis of 145 studies published between 2010 and 2024 found “strong reassurance regarding the safety of HPV vaccination.”
Research has not found any evidence of serious safety concerns associated with HPV vaccines.
Vaccines are an essential tool to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide.
In 2018, WHO set targets for countries to eliminate cervical cancer: 90 percent of girls vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70 percent of women screened for cervical cancer by age 35, and a 90 percent treatment rate for women with cervical precancer and cancer.
As countries boost their vaccination efforts, HPV vaccines are driving down cervical cancer rates around the world. As of 2025, Australia is on track to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035. Denmark has virtually eliminated two HPV strains responsible for over 70 percent of cervical cancers. A 2024 Scottish study found that the HPV vaccine was 100 percent effective in women vaccinated at age 12 or 13, with zero cervical cancer cases in that age group.
Despite this progress, many countries are far from meeting WHO’s targets, particularly in low- and middle-income nations, where HPV vaccine uptake is typically low. Efforts to address the myths that cause hesitancy and increase access to HPV vaccines, screening, and treatment will be key to eliminating cervical cancer worldwide.
For more information about the HPV vaccine, talk to your health care provider.