According to studies based in Costa Rica, those who, for some unknown reason, took only two out of the three of the doses for their HPV vaccinations are doing just as well as those who got all three. So far, the study only shows results for Costa Rican women from the ages of 18-25 (as those are the only ones who got the vaccine). At this point, no further studies have been, or even can be, done; as you can't refuse to give children the last dose of a vaccination because it is ethically wrong. Another problem is that there is no long-term study as of yet.
If this theory proves true, it could help developing countries all over the world, because there would be a 33.333% increase in how many people could receive HPV vaccinations. That could potentially be hundreds if not thousands of lives saved. It also means that less HPV vaccinations need to be made which would save NGOs and countries that provide them some money (though the pharmaceutical sector would take a hit); which overall, would save us a bunch of resources and laboratory space that can be used for production of other vaccinations.
However, at this point, there is still a LOT of research left to be done before the last dose can be left out. At least 20-30 years are probably going to be devoted to this before it can be deemed true or false. As for now, nothing changes.
This is definitely a worthy study as there are many benefits to cutting an unnecessary dose of the HPV vaccination. Seeing that only a small population has been studied, there definitely needs to be more research conducted. Out of the population of women who only received 2 doses, there is likely a good percentage that hasn't even encountered the virus. If this study is found to be true however, it does not necessarily mean that the third dose would be automatically distributed to areas of need, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteReducing the vaccination to two doses can be a financial savior for families hoping to get the injections. Although the effectiveness of only two doses is not fully tested and study, the cheaper treatment can reach more people in need, especially in developing countries. Enabling these resources to spread to those with limited access can potentially help create “herd” immunization throughout regions in the world. Many families are depending a cheaper vaccination, in the event the shortened treatment proves to be unsuccessful, numerous individuals will be missing out on the opportunity to protect themselves against HPV.
ReplyDeleteIf it is true that two doses can be good as well as the three doses. This will be a big help for those poor people.People living in a developing countries tend to have financial problem. Reduce one dose will help them save money.Although the study need to be further research and many families are depending on lower price. They should provide the third dose for free if they took the first two doses.Just in case the family refuse to give their children the third dose because the financial problem.
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