New HPV vaccine could mean one smear test in a lifetime - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life A new HPV vaccine could mean recipients only need one smear test in their lifetime By Georgia Green - March 2, 2022 The HPV vaccine helps to prevent the development of cervical cancer. The great news is that since the HPV vaccine programme was introduced in 2008, when it was offered to girls aged 11-13 (and also to boys since 2019), there has been a dramatic reduction in cervical cancer cases. In fact, research published in December showed the vaccine has cut cervical cancer by nearly 90 per cent in those who choose to have the jab. Amazing stuff. Getty Images Currently, women and people with cervixes are invited for regular screenings, known as smear tests, every three to five years from the age of 25. However, clinical trials director at King’s College London, Professor Peter Sasieni, has said the vaccine has been so successful that the screening programme could be set to change, dramatically reducing the number of smear tests each person has in a lifetime. He has proposed that between one and three checks in a lifetime is appropriate for people who have received the HPV vaccine. ‘Probably women could be screened at [age] 30 and 45, you might want to do it at 30, 40 and 55 so three times,’ he told Inside Health on BBC Radio 4. Getty Images But even more exciting is a new HPV vaccine, which Professor Sasieni says is effective enough for recipients to only need one smear test in their whole lifetime. ‘There’s a new vaccine which will be used in the UK from the next school year, which protects against even more types of the virus, and I think with that probably one screen would be enough, maybe two, over a lifetime.’ It’s really important to note that the cervical screening programme has not yet changed and the advice is still to attend all smear tests you are invited to. Here, a doctor explains why. Getty Images However, if the changes did go ahead, that would mark a dramatic shift in cervical screening processes within the space of a generation – mums would need regular checks while their daughter would only need to attend one or two smear tests in their lives. As the first generation to receive the HPV vaccine are now being invited for their first screenings, Professor Sasieni says, ‘We really want to make those changes over the next couple of years, it is a big change [but] the vaccine has been so successful this makes perfect sense.’ RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Aldi s exercise equipment is on sale with up to 50% off The best Halloween events for 2022 across the UK Popular in Life The You magazine team reveal their New Year s resolutions December 31, 2021 Susannah Taylor The TLC tools your body will love January 23, 2022 How to stop living in fear February 6, 2022 Susannah Taylor My pick of the fittest leggings February 27, 2022 Women’ s Prize for Fiction 2022 winner announced June 17, 2022 These BBC dramas are returning for a second series June 30, 2022 Susannah Taylor gives the lowdown on nature s little helper – CBD April 17, 2022 The baby names that are banned across the world April 27, 2022 The Queen has released her own emojis May 26, 2022 Sally Brompton horoscopes 27th June-3rd July 2022 June 26, 2022 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved