Duration of protection and waning of immunity in general and risk groups

With a multidose schedule, antibody titres remain high for up to 12 years for the bivalent (Cervarix) vaccine for girls vaccinated at age 16-17, up to 15 years for quadrivalent (Gardasil) vaccine, and for at least 6 years for the more recently licensed nonavalent vaccine (Gardasil-9). , ,   GMT following a single dose remain stable through at least 10-16 years.  ,  

Sources

  • World Health Organization (2022). Human papillomavirus vaccines: WHO position paper – December 2022. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 97(50):645–672 (https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/365350/WER9750-eng-fre.pdf?sequence=1, accessed 19 June 2025).

  • Olsson S-E, Van Damme P, Block SL, Castellsagué X, Gray GE, Herrera T et al. (2020). Long-term immunogenicity, effectiveness, and safety of nine-valent human papillomavirus vaccine in girls and boys 9 to 15 years of age: interim analysis after 8 years of follow-up. Papillomavirus Res. 10:100203. doi:10.1016/j.pvr.2020.100203.

  • Malvi, S.G., Esmy, P.O., Muwonge, R., Joshi, S., Poli, U.R.R., et al, 2024. A prospective cohort study comparing efficacy of 1 dose of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine to 2 and 3 doses at an average follow up of 12 years postvaccination. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2024, 317–328. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgae042

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  • Porras, C., Romero, B., Kemp, T., Fantin, R., Herrero, R., et al. Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial Study Group, 2024. HPV16/18 antibodies 16-years after single dose of bivalent HPV vaccination: Costa Rica HPV vaccine trial. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2024, 329–336. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgae032