Doctor in the House: Why Is One Dose of The HPV Vaccine Enough?

2023 marks the 13th year of HPV vaccination in Malaysia’s national immunisation programme, where 13-year-old girls in Form 1 receive the vaccination in schools. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we had achieved near-universal immunisation, reaching an estimated 250,000 13-year-old girls each year. Following recent news that the Ministry of Health will switch to a single-dose regime, we speak to Prof Margaret Stanley, Emeritus Professor of Epithelial Biology, University of Cambridge, on whether one dose is just as effective as two or three doses. Prof Woo Yin Ling, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist, University Malaya Medical Centre, also joins us to share an update on our HPV vaccination programme to date, with the impact of the pandemic on several cohorts of teenage girls.

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