CHICAGO -- Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) reduced the risk of multiple types of cancer in both men and women, a large retrospective cohort study showed.
The risk of head and neck cancer and all HPV-associated cancers in men decreased by more than 50%. Consistent with previous reports, vaccination reduced the risk of cervical cancer by 29%, cervical cancer precursor lesions by 50-60%, and all HPV-related cancers in women by 27%. The risk of head and neck cancer in women decreased by 33%, but the difference compared with unvaccinated women did not reach statistical significance.
The data are among the first to show an association between HPV vaccination and a reduced risk of multiple types of cancer and reduced cancer risk in men, reported Jefferson DeKloe, BS, a medical student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and research fellow at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, during a press briefing ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
"The HPV vaccine is a safe and effective way to prevent infection," said DeKloe. "Our study showed that patients under the age of 40 who were vaccinated for HPV usually have lower rates of cancer that are typically caused by HPV, including oropharyngeal cancer and cervical cancer."
ASCO President Lynn Schuchter, MD, of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said the study provided important new information about the HPV vaccine's ability to protect against malignancies other than cervical cancer.
"We've known for a long time that having the HPV vaccine can prevent the development of HPV infection, yes, but importantly, cancer," said Schuchter. "We've known about it primarily from cervical cancer. This is a really important study that extends the information about the impact. It was expected that HPV vaccine would decrease the risk of cancer in other areas that are associated with HPV infection."
As the incidence of head and neck cancer (particularly oropharyngeal cancer) associated with smoking and alcohol has declined, HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer has emerged as the primary disease type.
"This study really highlights the importance of getting the HPV vaccine," said Schuchter. "The goal is that younger girls and young boys get vaccinated to prevent development of HPV infection, and that should decrease the risk of cancer, which is what we've seen. This is really important information that continues to make the case for why we need boys and girls vaccinated against HPV."
The primary objective of the study was to gather more information about the relationship between HPV vaccination and subsequent risk of HPV-related cancers. Data for the analysis came from the TriNetX Network. The specific cancer sites of interest were head and neck, cervix, anus/anal canal, penis, vulva, and vagina. Additionally, women with no history of cervical dysplasia were followed for atypical cytology in Pap tests.
Vaccinated individuals were matched by propensity scoring to assemble a control population of unvaccinated men and women. Data analysis comprised 760,540 vaccinated men and 945,999 vaccinated women.
More than twice as many HPV-related cancers occurred in unvaccinated men (57 vs 26), which translated into a 54% reduction in the odds ratio (95% CI 0.29-0.72, P=0.0010). The data showed that 48 unvaccinated men developed head and neck cancer as compared with 21 in the vaccinated group, a 56% reduction in the odds ratio (95% CI 0.26-0.73, P=0.0016). Too few cases of anal and penile cancer occurred to permit a meaningful analysis.
Among unvaccinated women, 43 developed head and neck cancer versus 29 vaccinated women (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.42-1.1, P=0.10). Cervical cancer occurred in 70 vaccinated participants compared with 99 in the unvaccinated cohort (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52-0.96, P=0.027). More vaccinated women developed vulvar/vaginal cancer (20 vs 12), but the difference was not statistically significant (OR 1.66, 95% CI 0.81-3.41). Vaccination was associated with an odds ratio of 0.73 for all HPV-related cancers (95% CI 0.57-0.94, P=0.013).
Analysis of cervical cytology showed no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated women with respect to atypical squamous cells of uncertain significance or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL). However, high-grade SIL, cervical carcinoma in situ, abnormal Pap findings, and conization/LEEP procedures all occurred significantly less often in vaccinated women (P<0.01 to P<0.001). Overall, HPV vaccination was associated with a 58% reduction in the odds ratio for all abnormalities found by Pap smear (95% CI 0.25-0.72).
Charles Bankhead is senior editor for oncology and also covers urology, dermatology, and ophthalmology. He joined MedPage Today in 2007. Follow
Disclosures
DeKloe reported no relevant financial disclosures.
A co-author disclosed relationships with Rakuten Medical and AstraZeneca.
Schuchter disclosed relationships with Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, Incyte, and Merck.
Primary Source
American Society of Clinical Oncology
Source Reference: DeKloe J, et al "Effects of HPV vaccination on the development of HPV-related cancers: a retrospective analysis of a United States-based cohort" ASCO 2024; Abstract 10507.
New research suggests the HPV vaccine is preventing cancer in men, as well as in women, but fewer boys than girls are getting the shots in the United States.
The HPV vaccine was developed to prevent cervical cancer in women and experts give it credit, along with screening, forlowering cervical cancer rates.Evidence that the shots are preventing HPV-related cancers in men has been slower to emerge, but the new research suggests vaccinated men have fewer cancers of themouth and throatcompared to those who didnt get the shots. These cancers are more than twice as common in men than in women.
For the study, researchers compared 3.4 million people of similar ages half vaccinated versus half unvaccinated in a large health care dataset.
As expected, vaccinated women had a lower risk of developing cervical cancer within at least five years of getting the shots. For men, there were benefits too. Vaccinated men had a lower risk of developing any HPV-related cancer, such as cancers of the anus, penis and mouth and throat.
These cancers take years to develop so the numbers were low: There were 57 HPV-related cancers among the unvaccinated men mostly head and neck cancers compared to 26 among the men who had the HPV vaccine.
We think the maximum benefit from the vaccine will actually happen in the next two or three decades, said study co-author Dr. Joseph Curry, a head and neck surgeon at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia. What were showing here is an early wave of effect.
Results of the study and a second were released Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and will be discussed next month at its annual meeting in Chicago. The second study shows vaccination rates rising but males lag behind females in getting the HPV shots.
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is very common and is spread through sex. Most HPV infections cause no symptoms and clear up without treatment. Others develop into cancer, about 37,000 cases a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the U.S., the HPV vaccine has been recommended since 2006 for girls at age 11 or 12, and since 2011 for boys the same age. Catch-up shots are recommended for anyone through age 26 who hasnt been vaccinated.
In the second study, researchers looked at self- and parent-reported HPV vaccination rates in preteens and young adults in a large government survey. From 2011 to 2020, vaccination rates rose from 38% to 49% among females, and among males from 8% to 36%.
HPV vaccine uptake among young males increased by more than fourfold over the last decade, though vaccination rates among young males still fall behind females, said study co-author Dr. Danh Nguyen at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Parents of boys, as well as girls, should know that HPV vaccines lower cancer risk, said Jasmin Tiro of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center who was not involved in the research. And young men who havent been vaccinated can still get the shots.
Its really important that teenagers get exposed to the vaccine before theyre exposed to the virus, she said.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Biglaw firms across the country instituted vaccine mandates in an effort to protect the members of their workforce. Now, a former employee who was fired for refusing to be vaccinated has filed suit, claiming that the firm discriminated against her.
Denise Lemke, who once worked as a practice group assistant at Jenner & Block a firm that brought in $582,122,000 gross revenue in 2023, putting it at No. 86 in the Am Law 100 alleges that the firm should have granted her a religious exemption from vaccination. Law360 has the details:
Plaintiff contended, in her written request, that use of the vaccines was inconceivable to her in that abortion is murder. Taking any of the vaccines would therefore be a mortal sin in that it would require her to condone the killing of an unborn child, according to the suit.
The firm denied her accommodation request shortly after. Lemke claims Jenner granted similar requests for accommodation that were sought by men, and were sought by people younger than plaintiff (53 at the time of her termination).
Lemke claims she was fired on March 22, 2022, because Jenner denied her accommodation requests.
Although similar suits have been rejected by the courts, Lemke is moving forward with hers, alleging that Jenner discriminated against her based on her religion, sex, and age. She is seeking back and forward wages, punitive damages, costs, and attorney fees.
Jenner & Block Sued For Firing Worker Over Vax Refusal [Law360 (sub. req.)] Former BigLaw employee alleges she was wrongly fired for vaccine refusal [ABA Journal]
Staci Zaretskyis a senior editor at Above the Law, where shes worked since 2011. Shed love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Groundbreaking Access to Documents Show Pharma Giants Bullied South Africa in Covid-19 Vaccine Negotiations - HJI Report "The Negotiations, One Sided- Part 2" is now publicly available on the HJI website.
Today the Health Justice Initiative (HJI) released the second part of its analysis into the negotiation and procurement of COVID-19 vaccines by the South African Government. Like the previous report released in September 2023 on the contracts, HJI found in its analysis of the documents released to it in late 2023, per a High Court Order, that even the negotiations that were conducted in a global pandemic, heavily favoured multinational pharmaceutical corporations, over the public interest.
Supported by Public Citizen and others, HJI analysed the documentation relating to the negotiations with several companies and entities, and in particular, the negotiation documents with two companies: Moderna and Pfizer. In the end South Africa did not procure vaccines from Moderna but it is clear that it did enter into negotiations, and those negotiations were governed by a binding Confidential Disclosure Agreement.
These negotiation records and confidentiality disclosure agreements are what pharmaceutical companies did not want the public to see, worldwide, and it is now clear why. Unprecedented insight into their aims and tactics reveal a profit maximising strategy against a country struggling to keep people healthy, shielding itself from responsibility for any problems associated with deliveries and putting the burden of importing vaccines on the South African Government itself, among others.
Fatima Hassan, Director of HJI believes, "the analysis of the negotiation documents, similar to the previous report into the contracts, reveals a pattern of bullying and attempts to extract one sided terms, especially by pharma giants Moderna and Pfizer all while they profiteered from a global health emergency. It is inconceivable that companies, their lawyers and CEOs exercised so much power, forcing countries into concessions, when we were most in need for supplies. Additionally, attempts by these companies to extract monopolistic and high prices for life saving vaccines are documented, and now clear for all to see -this must have a bearing on current efforts underway in Geneva to negotiation a global Pandemic Accord - the absurd power that CEOs have in health emergencies must be addressed, with urgency and resolutely".
"What these documents make clear is that corporations can and will exploit the conditions of public health emergencies to coerce governments, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries, into accepting unreasonable agreements on the supply of life-saving medicines.
International efforts to address future global health emergencies, like the Pandemic Accord, must include robust provisions and safeguards to rein in these corporate interests and ensure the rapid, equitable supply of vital countermeasures for everyone," says Jishian Ravinthiran, Researcher with Public Citizen.
The negotiation documents and HJI's analysis thereof shows that Moderna took the most aggressive approach to shield any of its vaccine supply from public accountability. It also demanded:
This, in part, probably explains why South Africa did not, in the end, obtain supplies from Moderna. On Pfizer, the negotiating documents also show South African officials did try to highlight the one- sided nature of the negotiations and include provisions to mitigate the unfettered power and control Pfizer sought to exercise over the supply agreement, but that was largely unsuccessful in the end. Government officials marked up draft supply agreements with multiple comments including: "We need to be able to disclose and be accountable...".
Pfizer's universal rejection of proposed amendments is a prime example of concentrated corporate power overriding public interests. It should be frightening to everybody that a private company can bully a country this way. "Private companies being able to operate in the shadows is not good for anyone other than the companies themselves, especially under the soon to be implemented NHI in South Africa"- said Hassan.
Pfizer rejected provisions that would have permitted disclosure of confidential information in emergency circumstances and for bolstering transparency and trust in the vaccination programme. This is despite efforts by South African government officials to revise the ironclad confidentiality restrictions by referencing the World Health Assembly's (WHA) resolution about transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines, and other health products. Additionally, government officials warned that these provisions may hamper oversight from lawmakers and the South African office of the Auditor General.
"The totality of the agreements signed and the negotiation records show that these companies shamelessly wanted secrecy, and no transparency and that they profiteered at the public's expense during the pandemic," says Hassan.
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The report concludes that contractual bullying by monopolistic pharma corporations undermined South Africa's vaccination programme to the detriment of its people. It calls for mandating transparency around procuring lifesaving vaccines and medicines using public funds in any health emergency and especially under the soon to be implemented NHI system, where the state will be responsible for the procurement of all approved NHI medical supplies.
However, HJI believes that making public the contracts and negotiations sets an important legal precedent that publicly funded medical supplies cannot be contractually buried in corporate secrecy during health crises.
"People's lives must come before pharma secrecy and profiteering," Hassan says. "This conduct was unethical; it went against our Constitution and cannot be allowed in future health emergencies nor under the NHI in South Africa."
All negotiating documents handed over by the State; and HJI's analysis thereof can be found here.
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UNICEF delivered over 43000 doses of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine by air to Bangui, Central African Republic, today, with more than 120000 doses to follow in the next days. It is the first country to receive the R21 malaria vaccine for use in routine childhood immunization, marking another step forward in preventing the disease and saving childrens lives.
R21 is the second malaria vaccine to be recommended by WHO for children living in endemic areas. Along with the earlier WHO recommendation of the RTS,S vaccine, there is now sufficient vaccine supply to scale up malaria vaccination in Africa. The rollout of both vaccines is funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
With two products now available to countries, expanded supply of malaria vaccines is a game changer for child survival and health, said Director of UNICEF Supply Division Leila Pakkala. Previous concerns about supply meeting demand are firmly behind us. Now our priority is for the vaccines to reach every child at risk.
The R21 and RTS,S vaccines are proven safe and effective in preventing malaria in children. The RTS,S vaccine was delivered to more than 2million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi in a four-year pilot programme that demonstrated a 13% reduction in all-cause mortality.
Malaria is one of the worlds most lethal diseases, killing nearly half a million children under 5 years of age each year in Africa.
The Central African Republic has one of the highest rates of malaria incidence globally. In 2022, an estimated 1733000 malariacases were reported in the country, averaging about 4747 cases a day. The disease also claimedaround 5180 lives over the year, or 14 deaths each day.
Having two safe and effective vaccines means we have greater supply security and can be more confident about meeting countries needs, said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. That is what matters most that countries where our vaccines can be most impactful are able to access them, saving thousands of lives each year and offering relief to families, communities and entire health systems.
Central African Republic, along with Chad, Cote dIvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Uganda, are preparing to receive R21 shipments.
Around 4.33million doses of RTS,S have been delivered to 8 countries so far Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone that are offering the vaccine in their routine child immunization programmes as part of national malaria control plans. Burundi and Niger are next on the list for RTS,S shipments.
Vaccine deliveries to countries that are funded through the Vaccine Alliance depend on government requests and readiness to include the vaccine in routine immunization programmes.
Gavi, UNICEF, WHO, and partners are supporting governments as they prepare to receive and introduce the vaccines. This involves supporting countries to develop vaccine implementation plans and communication strategies, conducting health worker trainings and community engagement, and ensuring sufficient cold chain capacity.
Malaria vaccines, introduced as part of the tools available in comprehensive national malaria control plans, will substantially reduce early childhood deaths and can help revitalize the fight against malaria. With the R21 vaccine now joining RTS,S vaccine for use in country immunization programmes, scale up of malaria vaccine across parts of Africa, where malaria remains a major cause of childhood death will continue. The high community demand for malaria vaccines also provides an opportunity for children to receive other childhood vaccines that may be due, resulting in even more lives saved, said Dr Kate OBrien, Director of WHO's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.
Malaria vaccines are an important addition to the fight against the disease. Careful planning is essential to ensure the successful introduction of the malaria vaccines and to combine them with other interventions including insecticide-treated bed nets or targeted indoor residual spraying, chemoprevention, diagnosis and prompt treatments to maximize the impact on public health.
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Notes to editors:
Download photos and videos here (content will be added post-shipment arrival).
Follow this link for the UNICEF vaccine market dashboard, which provides the latest market developments, including deliveries and a global overview of prices.
For more information, please contact:
Sara Alhattab, UNICEF New York, Tel: +1 917 957 6536, salhattab@unicef.org
Meghana Sharafudeen, Gavi, Tel: +41 79 711 55 54, msharafudeen@gavi.org
Matt Grek, Gavi, mgrek@gavi.org
WHO Press Office, mediainquiries@who.int
About UNICEF UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org
Follow UNICEF onTwitter,Facebook,InstagramandYouTube
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the worlds children against some of the worlds deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunize a whole generation over 1 billion children and prevented more than 17.3 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology from drones to biometrics to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency.
Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and X (Twitter).
About WHO
Dedicated to the health and well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere, an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations leading the worlds response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. www.who.int
Content From: HIV.govPublished : May 24, 20243 min read Topics CDCCenters for Disease Control & Preventionmpox
In its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC has released the results of studies highlighting the protection offered by the two-dose JYNNEOS mpox vaccine; the importanceof completing the two-dose vaccination series for persons at risk for mpox exposure, who have not previously recovered from mpox(including certain gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men); and importance of ongoing U.S. preparedness in light of increasing mpox clade I cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Read the study summaries below.
Two JYNNEOS vaccine doses prevent mpox; however, infection in fully vaccinated persons can occur.
Monkeypox virus infection after receipt of 2 JYNNEOS doses is estimated to have occurred in <1% of fully vaccinated persons and comprises a small proportion of national cases. Among persons who experienced infection after having received a complete 2-dose series and for whom complete data were available, infections have been milder than those among unvaccinated persons. Disparate time intervals from vaccination to infection among fully vaccinated persons suggest that immunity is not waning.
To optimize protection, persons recommended to receive mpox vaccination should complete the 2-dose JYNNEOS vaccination series. No additional vaccine doses are recommended at this time.
Since the global mpox outbreak began in 2022, mpox cases have continued to occur in the United States.
After the peak of the 2022 mpox outbreak, when approximately 3,000 cases per week were reported, cases declined sharply and remain significantly lower (approximately 59 reported cases per week during October 1, 2023April 30, 2024). Most new mpox cases occur in unvaccinated persons.
CDC recommends that persons at risk for mpox exposure, who have not previously recovered from mpox (including certain gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) complete the 2-dose JYNNEOS vaccination series.
Compared with clade II monkeypox virus (MPXV), which caused the 2022 global mpox outbreak, clade I MPXV can result in more persons with severe illness and higher mortality.
The increasing number of reported suspected clade I mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) poses a global threat for potential spread. No clade I cases have been reported in countries without endemic transmission. CDC is supporting DRCs response and containment efforts and ensuring U.S. preparedness by increasing awareness and surveillance, expanding clade I diagnostic testing capacity, and communicating guidance.
U.S. clinicians and public health practitioners should be alert for possible cases in travelers from DRC and request clade-specific testing. Appropriate medical treatment is critical given the potential for severe illness, and contact tracing and containment strategies, including isolation, behavior modification and vaccination, will be important to prevent spread if any U.S. clade I mpox cases occur.
For more information on mpox, visit CDCs page on mpox.
The HPV vaccine is linked to a drastic reduction in head and neck cancers in adolescent boys and men, new research finds.
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a sexually transmitted infection responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancer. But the virus is also linked to a number of other cancers, including penile, anal and vaginal cancers.
It also accounts for the majority up to 70% of head and neck cancers, which affect the throat and mouth. Men are about twice as likely to develop these cancers than women, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The HPV vaccine, initially approved for adolescent girls, protects against strains of the virus linked to cervical cancer and has been found to significantly reduce rates of the cancer. But theres growing evidence that the vaccine also protects against other HPV-related cancers.
We want males to be thinking about HPV vaccination not just as something that protects female patients, but also male patients, said Jefferson DeKloe, a research fellow in the department of otolaryngologyat Thomas Jefferson University, who specializes in head and neck surgery and who co-authored the research.
The findings will be presented next week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference and have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Prior research showed a downward trend in oral infections with HPV strains known to cause cancer. That was a promising sign, said Dr. GlennJ. Hanna, a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institutes Center for Head and Neck Oncology, who was not involved in the new research.
If we can lower the infection rate, we would hope that we would see what we are seeing now, a decline in cancer rates, Hanna said. This is an important evolution of the story.
The new study analyzed health records from a national database that included nearly 3.5 million people in the United States ages 9 to 39 who had received any vaccination HPV or otherwise from 2010 through 2023. About 1.5 million were male, half of whom had been vaccinated against cancer-causing strains of HPV. Nearly 1 million were females who had been vaccinated against HPV.
The researchers compared the rates of HPV-linked cancers including head and neck, anal, penile, and cervical cancers in people who had received the HPV vaccine to those who hadnt. They found being vaccinated reduced the overall risk of HPV-related cancers in males by 54%, a decrease driven primarily by a drop in head and neck cancers. Females were about 30% less likely to develop any type of HPV-related cancer, including cervical cancer.
Most cases of head and neck cancer are in people older than 50. Since the U.S. is only about a decade into widespread HPV vaccination in both males and females, the vaccinated generation hasnt reached this age yet. HPV typically infects younger people and takes decades for chronic infection to lead to cancer.
These are the early results of a larger phenomenon we are going to watch play out over the next 20 or 30 years, DeKloe said, noting that experts dont expect to see the full effect HPV vaccination has on cancer rates until the largely vaccinated generation is older.
A second study, which will also be presented at the ASCO conference next week and is not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, found that HPV vaccination rates have been on the rise in the U.S. from 2011 through early 2020, including in all racial and ethnic groups.
HPV vaccination wasnt recommended for males until 2011, five years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the vaccine series for girls. The HPV vaccine is now recommended for all adolescents starting as young as age 9, but can also be given to adults up to age 45.
In the new study, which included children and young adults ages 9 to 26, the increase was largely driven by growing HPV vaccine uptake among males. Although overall HPV vaccination rates among males still lag behind females about 36% compared to about 50% of those in the 9 to 26 age group these rates are accelerating.
The gap is narrowing between males and females and eventually I would hope that they would meet up, said Dr. Danh Nguyen, a resident physician at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who led the research.
Although vaccination efforts have focused on adolescents, adults should also consider getting vaccinated if they werent when they were younger, said Dr. Nancy Lee, service chief of head and neck radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, who was not involved with either study.
If you are in your 20s or 30s, you can still get the vaccination. Even if you are 45, there is no reason you cannot get vaccinated because we have a population that lives a long time, Lee said.
Nguyen said its important that conversations about HPV vaccination continue to focus on the prevention of all cancers, including head and neck cancers that are more prevalent in men, rather than solely on cervical cancer prevention.
Hanna said stigma around HPV being a sexually transmitted infection has made discussions around vaccinating adolescents a sticky subject in the past, but that clear data showing the impact vaccination rates have on HPV-related cancers is shifting the narrative.
HPV vaccination is cancer prevention, Hanna said. The bottom line is that we are preventing cancers broadly by getting people vaccinated younger.
Kaitlin Sullivan
Kaitlin Sullivan is a contributor for NBCNews.com who has worked with NBC News Investigations.She reports on health, science and the environment andis a graduate of theCraig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York.
SciCheck Digest
A rare risk of dangerous blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was identified and reported in early 2021. This month, the company announced it was pulling the vaccine off the market globally, citing a decline in demand. Social media posts misleadingly linked the decision to the company having admitted the rare side effect for the first time in court documents and used it to impugn all vaccines.
The association between the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and a rare and dangerous blood clotting condition combined with low blood platelets has been known for more than three years.The condition is known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, in general, and vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT, when it implies an association to vaccines.
The European Medicines Agency, which regulates vaccines in the European Union,first warnedof the possible link between the vaccine and very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of blood platelets on March 18, 2021. In astatementissued that same day, the pharmaceutical company acknowledged the finding and said it recognises and will implement EMAs recommendations, including updating the product information to warn about the reported cases.
A few weeks later, in April 2021, the EMAconcludedthe unusual blood clots should be listed as very rare side effects of the vaccine.TTS is included in the possible side effects section in the package leaflet for users for Vaxzevria (page 30), one of the brand names of the vaccine along with Covishield. TTS has also been listed in Covishields product insert under the special warnings section, as a side effect in the fact sheet for recipients since at least August 2021, and as a possible adverse reaction in an FAQ page from its manufacturer that was updated on July 5, 2021.
In September 2021, the National Health Service in England reportedthat the rare condition affected approximately 1 in 50,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine recipients under 50 years old and 1 in 100,000 recipients older than 50. Between May 2021 and May 2022, there were 443 cases of TTSreported following vaccination in the U.K.; 81 of them were fatal. (In July 2021, thevaccinewas also linked to rare cases of Guillain-Barr syndrome, a neurological disorder that leads to muscle weakness and, at times, paralysis. The World Health Organization said that most people recover fully.)
The vaccinewas never used in the U.S. outside clinical trials AstraZeneca decidednot to file the application for approval.But the vaccine was widely used in the rest of the world, especially during 2021.
In March, the European Commission withdrewAstraZenecas authorization to market its COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union, at the companys request, and on May 7, the company announced it was pulling the vaccine from the market globally. Social media posts misleadingly framed the companys recent decision as a consequence of admitting the rare TTS condition for the first time in court documents, as part of a lawsuit in the U.K. The claim was also shared in Spanish.
AstraZenecahad saidthe decision was based on a decline in demand. Other COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers had developed new versions to target variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines, the company said in a statement sent to us.
AstraZeneca finally WITHDRAW Covid vaccine worldwide, months after the pharmaceutical giant admitted for the first time in court documents that it can cause a rare and dangerous side effect. Never forget how they cancelled anyone who questioned its safety, reads aviral postshared across social media platforms.
The U.K. news website the Telegraphhad reportedon April 28 that AstraZeneca had admitted its COVID-19 vaccine could cause TTS in an apparent about-turn that could pave the way for a multi-million pound legal payout in a class action lawsuit in which the company is being sued for death and serious injury in dozens of cases. The article said the company hadnt said that in a court document before.But the story went on to say that a link between the vaccine and the rare blood clotting condition was identified in March 2021, as we said.
On May 7, the Telegraph reported that AstraZeneca was being withdrawn worldwide, months after the pharmaceutical giant admitted for the first time in court documents that it can cause a rare and dangerous side effect. The next day, the Independent, a British online newspaper, published a story with the headline AstraZeneca withdraws Covid vaccine worldwide after admitting it can cause rare blood clots.
Christina Pagel, professor of operational research at University College London, said the headlines were needlessly scary on her blog on May 8, and days later in an op-ed with Sheena Cruickshank, immunologist at the University of Manchester,in the New Statesman, a U.K. publication.
Fundamentally, the situation is this: there isnt a new smoking gun; the AZ vaccine was one of the first and cheapest vaccines; it saved millions of lives globally; and there are better vaccines out there now, adapted to new variants, they wrote.
Even though the rare risk associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was reported early on and was well-known, some social media users took the Telegraphs news reports as vindication.
Now they admit it,wroteconservative commentator Dan Bongino in a Facebook post, linking to a Rumble video titled AstraZeneca Makes SHOCKING Admission About COVID Vax We Were Right All Along.
Others used the apparent news to cast shade on all other COVID-19 vaccines. Its not just the Astra Zeneca, one Facebook post said.
A commenter to a post on Instagram wrote, Whens the class action lawsuit against the US Government?, although the vaccine was not authorized for use in the U.S. Another one wrote, When will Pfizer finally step up and do the same?, although the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has not been linked to TTS.
Just like other COVID-19 vaccines authorized or approved for use, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, co-developed by Oxford University,wasfoundtobesafe and effective for people over 18 years old in clinical trials and in further studies.The efficacy of the vaccine in preventing symptomatic diseasein clinical trials was 74%, which was lower than its mRNA counterparts, namely the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
After the potentially deadly blood clot side effect was identified in 2021, many countriesrestricted the AstraZeneca vaccine usefor only older populations. The reported TTS cases were more prevalent among those younger than 50.
Because AstraZenecas vaccine wascheaper and easier to distributethan other COVID-19 vaccines, it was among thefirst vaccinessent to poorer countries byCOVAX, a global initiative that allowed for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Since its rollout, more than 3 billion doses were distributed in over 180 countries,accordingto a 2022 statement from thevaccine developers, with approximately two-thirds of the doses going to poorer countries. A2022 analysis by Airfinity, a disease-forecasting company, showed that the vaccine saved 6.3 million lives from December 2020 to December 2021.The company used data from a study by scientists with the Imperial College London on the global impact of COVID-19 vaccination during that year.
As we said, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was not used in the U.S. outside clinical trials.
The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, though, uses the same platform as the AstraZeneca vaccine. Both use a modified, harmless adenovirus, a type of virus that typically causes the common cold, to trigger an immune response. The J&J vaccine was granted an emergency use authorization in February 2021, but soon after, in April of that year, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported casesof TTS following the administration of the vaccine and recommended a pause in its use. The FDA also reportedrare cases of GBSin July 2021.
The FDAlimited the authorizationof the J&J vaccine to certain people in May 2022, and the vaccine was ultimately discontinued in 2023. As of April 7, 2022, the CDC and FDA had confirmed 60 cases of TTS, including nine deaths, among more than 18.6 million J&J vaccines administered. In September 2023, the CDC said TTS after J&J COVID-19 vaccination has occurred in approximately 4 cases per one million doses administered.
The first two COVID-19 vaccines authorized and approved in the U.S., the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, are both mRNA vaccines. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were widely used in the U.S., and neither has been linked to TTS. For context, as of April 26, 2023, approximately 367 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 232 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 19 million doses of the J&J vaccine had been administered in the country.
Both mRNA vaccines have been shown to be safe, with rare serious side effects reported, and effective at preventing severe COVID-19 disease and death. One estimate published in December 2022suggeststhat COVID-19 vaccines prevented more than 18 million hospitalizations and 3 million deaths in the U.S.
Editors note: SciChecks articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.orgs editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.
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COVID-19 patients vaccinated against the novel coronavirus were less likely to have symptoms of post-COVID condition (PCC), or long COVID, according to a new study in Nature Communications.
The study was based on outcomes seen among patients in eight large healthcare systems in the United States who had positive SARS-CoV-2 tests between March 2021 and February 2022.
The authors of the study defined PCC as a new diagnosis in one of 13 PCC categories 30 days to 6 months following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.
The authors matched 161,531 vaccinated COVID-19 patients to unvaccinated patients using electronic health records. Of the vaccinated patients, 96.7% had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and among both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, less than 1% of included COVID-19 cases had evidence of SARS-CoV-2 re-infection.
"Most patients with SARS-CoV-2 were identified in December 2021 and January 2022, approximately reflecting the time period during which Omicron was the dominant circulating variant and COVID-19 vaccination coverage was high in the US," the authors said.
Most patients with SARS-CoV-2 were identified in December 2021 and January 2022, approximately reflecting the time period during which Omicron was the dominant circulating variant.
The average age of COVID-19 patients was 37.1 years, and 37.1% were White, while 36.2% were Hispanic.
During an average 151-day follow-up period, the authors found the risk of PCC was significantly lower for vaccinated than for unvaccinated patients for 9 of the 13 outcomes studied.
Vaccination was associated with a greater than 10% lower risk of sensory (relative risk [RR], 0.90), circulatory (RR, 0.88), blood and hematologic (RR, 0.79), skin and subcutaneous (RR, 0.69), and non-specific COVID-related disorders (RR, 0.53).
Vaccinated patients, however, were at a slightly increased risk of mental illness compared with unvaccinated patients over the study period (RR, 1.06).
In other long-COVID research news, a study in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases describes new estimates of long-COVID incidence and clinical study trends in a number of regions.
Overall, the incidence of long COVID was 31% in North America, 44% in Europe, and 51% in Asia.
The authors said the proportion of long-COVID studies investigating potential treatments increased from 45.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 31.3% to 60.1%) in 2020 to 64.9% (95% CI, 57.3% to 72.5%) in 2023, with an average annual percentage change of 15.7%.
A total of 312 studies were found to be testing potential therapies for long COVID. Of these, the United States conducted 18.6% of clinical studies on long COVID between 2020 and 2023, followed by India (17.6%), and Spain (6.4%).
"In contrast, more long COVID studies are needed for European long COVID population, the authors said.
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New research from scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) suggests people who received COVID-19 vaccines and then experienced "breakthrough" infections are especially well armed against future SARS-CoV-2 infections.
By analyzing blood samples from study volunteers, the LJI researchers discovered that people who experienced symptomatic breakthrough infections develop T cells that are better at recognizing and targeting SARS-CoV-2, including the omicron and delta variants. The researchers describe this increased protection as an "immunity wall."
"The virus evolves, but, importantly, so does the immune system. T cells do not sit idle. Instead, they learn to recognize the parts of the virus that mutate," says LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, who co-led the Cell Reports Medicine study with LJI Professor Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and LJI Research Assistant Professor Alba Grifoni, Ph.D.
Study volunteers who experienced symptomatic breakthrough infections developed T cells that recognized multiple targets on the SARS-CoV-2 viral "Spike" and non-Spike epitopes. This infection left study volunteers with T cells that were better equipped to recognize mutated regions on new SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Even asymptomatic breakthrough infections boost T cell responses, though the effect was not as significant. Breakthrough infections also led B cells to produce cross-reactive antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Most of these antibodies targeted the new viral variants and the original vaccine antigens.
The researchers found no evidence of harmful "T cell exhaustion" in study volunteers who had experienced repeated COVID-19 vaccinations and SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Many studies have shown that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, provides people with significant immune protection against severe disease. Several LJI-led studies have shown that this immune protection is long-lasting and can even help protect the body from new viral "variants of concern."
For the new study, LJI scientists investigated exactly how breakthrough infections affect T cells and B cells. The researchers followed a large group of study volunteers who had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Over time, many of these volunteers experienced breakthrough infections. The LJI scientists followed up with these volunteers to collect new blood samples post infection.
"With this study volunteer cohort, we were in a unique position to see how the immune system looked before and after a breakthrough infection," says Grifoni.
Study co-first author and LJI Postdoctoral Researcher Alison Tarke, Ph.D., spearheaded research showing that breakthrough infections prompted T cells to expand their "repertoires." That meant the cells could recognize multiple features, or antigens, on SARS-CoV-2.
These T cells appeared to develop their broad repertoires due to a combination of vaccination and breakthrough infection. COVID-19 vaccines taught the T cells to recognize a key part of SARS-CoV-2 called the "Spike" protein. Meanwhile, SARS-CoV-2 infection prompted T cells to recognize Spike, as well as several other viral proteins.
Breakthrough infection had left these study volunteers with T cells that could recognize and target SARS-CoV-2, even if part of it was mutated.
Breakthrough omicron and delta variant infections also prompted B cells to produce more diverse antibodies. These antibodies could target epitopes that the vaccine and the infecting SARS-CoV-2 variant had in common.
In fact, most of these new antibodies were good at attacking epitopes that the vaccine and the variants had in common. "New B cell responses that are only specific to the infecting variant, but not the vaccine, are very rare," says study co-first author and LJI Instructor Parham Ramezani-Rad, Ph.D.
The researchers uncovered another interesting trend in people with breakthrough infections. COVID-19 vaccines tend to be given in the upper arm, which means anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune cells develop far away from the upper respiratory system. SARS-CoV-2 tends to infect the upper respiratory tract first, which means there can be a delay getting the right immune cells to the scene of infection.
"A breakthrough infection has the potential of adding a layer of protection on top of a vaccine," says Grifoni.
As they worked, the scientists also found markers of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in about 30% of study volunteers who had never shown COVID-19 symptoms. These volunteers appeared to have contracted asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 at some point earlier in the pandemic.
"Our study suggests most people who never thought they got a breakthrough infection actually did," says Grifoni. "The majority of the population appears to be affected by a combination of vaccination and one or more breakthrough infections."
The new study also addresses concerns that repeated infection or COVID-19 vaccine might lead to a phenomenon called T cell exhaustion, where T cells lose their ability to target a pathogen.
The researchers discovered that breakthrough infections prompted T cells to produce more types of cytokines, signaling molecules that help fight infection. Before a breakthrough infection, T cells might produce one or two types of cytokines, Grifoni explains.
"After the breakthrough infection, the same cells produce multiple types of cytokines, making them more efficacious," says Grifoni. "Not only are our T cells not exhausted, but they are actually improving their capabilities."
The "immunity wall" does seem to have limits. Following an asymptomatic breakthrough infection, T cell abilities appeared to plateau in response to a subsequent symptomatic infection. B cells continued to produce neutralizing antibodies following subsequent breakthrough infections, but the researchers didn't see the same big "boost" to neutralizing antibody levels.
So should people continue to get SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccines? The LJI scientists point out that SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, and COVID-19 can still cause serious illness in immunocompromised people. Their advice is to follow all current CDC guidelines on who should receive booster vaccines.
This research is also an important step toward the development of new vaccines against future SARS-CoV-2 variants and many other viruses with pandemic potential.
Ramezani-Rad says the study helps answer important questions about how breakthrough infections alter antibody responses. Going forward, he is curious how future SARS-CoV-2 variantsor new vaccine designsmight further tweak the immune system.
"Studies of local B cell responses in the upper airwaywhere the infection occurswill also be informative on how B cells responses are induced, particularly after breakthrough infection," says Ramezani-Rad.
Sette and Grifoni are focused on how to train T cells to recognize many types of coronaviruses at once. Their research is critical for developing a "pan-coronavirus" vaccine.
In a 2023 study, their laboratories worked with scientists at the University of Genoa to show that some T cells can recognize multiple coronaviruses at once. This new study shows them how breakthrough infections can shape T cell responses to fight novel SARS-CoV-2 variants.
"We're very interested to see if this phenomenon could be exploited in general to prepare against other potential pandemic threats," says Sette. "This is a step in a journey to help us protect against viral infections and potential pandemics."
Additional authors of the study, "SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections enhance T cell response magnitude, breadth, and epitope repertoire," include Tertuliano Alves Pereira Neto, Yeji Lee, Vanessa Silva-Moraes, Benjamin Goodwin, Nathaniel Bloom, Leila Siddiqui, Liliana Avalos, April Frazier, Zeli Zhang, Ricardo da Silva Antunes, and Jennifer Dan.
More information: Alison Tarke et al, SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections enhance T cell response magnitude, breadth, and epitope repertoire, Cell Reports Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101583
Journal information: Cell Reports Medicine
