HPV can affect anyone, often without symptoms. In Malta, the vaccine is free for people born in 2000 or later.What is the HPV vaccine and why is vaccination important?When you hear “HPV vaccine”, you might think of cervical cancer. But human papillomavirus, or HPV, can affect everyone, including males. It is a very common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is passed mainly through intimate skin-to-skin contact or skin-to-mucosa contact during sexual activity, including vaginal, anal and oral sex. Most of the time, HPV can show no symptoms, so someone can pass on HPV without knowing they have it.Which HPV types does the vaccine cover?There are over 100 types of HPV but not all can cause cancer. The vaccine offered in Malta is a 9- valent vaccine, meaning it helps protects against 9 HPV types:HPV 6 and 11, which cause most genital warts.HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58, which are high risk types that can lead to certain cancers such as penile, throat, vulval, cervical and anal.Most HPV infections cause no symptoms and may clear up naturally, usually within a couple of years. However, some HPV types can cause genital warts, while persistent infections with high-risk HPV types can lead to certain cancers over time.In males, HPV is linked to cancers of the penis, anus, and mouth and oropharynx (the back of the throat, including the tonsils and base of the tongue) (World Health Organization, 2024). In females HPV can be linked to cervical cancer, as well as cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx. HPV can affect everyone, regardless of gender.For females, evidence from national vaccination programmes also shows the vaccine’s benefits in cancer prevention. In a Danish study involving more than 860,000 women, Kjaer and colleagues (2021) found an approximately 86% lower incidence of cervical cancer among those vaccinated at age 16 or younger, compared with unvaccinated women.Share this with someone who should register•