If you’re a teenager, there’s a good chance somebody else has been keeping track of your vaccines for most of your life.
Your parents took you to the doctor. They signed the forms. They kept the records.
But here’s one vaccine that’s worth knowing about yourself: the HPV vaccine.
That’s because HPV — human papillomavirus — isn’t primarily a childhood disease. It’s an extremely common virus spread through intimate sexual contact, and some types can eventually cause cancer.
The vaccine is given during the preteen and teen years for a simple reason: it works best before you are exposed to HPV.
That doesn’t mean doctors assume an 11- or 12-year-old is having sex. It means they’re trying to provide protection before it’s needed.
And after 20 years of HPV vaccination in the United States, researchers now have something they didn’t have when the first vaccine arrived in 2006: years of evidence showing what happens when young people are protected.
First, What Exactly Is HPV?
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.
It spreads through intimate skin-to-skin contact and can be transmitted during vaginal, anal or oral sex. A person can spread HPV without having symptoms or even knowing they have it.
That’s important because HPV is extraordinarily common. The CDC says nearly everyone who isn’t vaccinated will get HPV at some point in life.
Most infections disappear on their own and never cause a problem.
Some don’t.
Persistent infections with certain HPV types can eventually lead to cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus and back of the throat. Other types of HPV can cause genital warts.
That’s why calling this simply an “STD vaccine” misses the bigger point.
It’s a cancer-prevention vaccine.
Twenty Years Later, We Know More
The first HPV vaccine was approved in the United States in June 2006, initially for girls and young women. Routine vaccination recommendations later expanded to boys.
That means the first generation vaccinated as preteens is now well into adulthood.
And the results are significant.
Since vaccination began, infections with the HPV types responsible for most HPV cancers and genital warts have fallen 88% among teen girls and 81% among young adult women compared with the period before vaccination.
Researchers are also finding fewer cervical precancers — abnormal cells that can eventually develop into cancer.
The current Gardasil 9 vaccine protects against nine HPV types, including types associated with several cancers and genital warts.
So Why Aren’t More Teens Getting It?
That’s where the numbers get interesting.
In 2025, about 89% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 had received the recommended meningococcal vaccine and nearly 89% had received Tdap, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
But only 77.7% had received at least one HPV shot, and just 63.4% were considered up to date on the HPV vaccine series.
HPV vaccination rates haven’t increased significantly for four consecutive years.
One difference is school requirements.
Tdap is required for school attendance in every state, and most states require the meningococcal vaccine. Few states require HPV vaccination. CDC researchers say those differences in school requirements may partly explain the vaccination gap.
HPV also comes with something the other vaccines don’t: a conversation about sex.
But whether someone is sexually active now isn’t really the point. Vaccination is recommended early precisely because protection is most effective before exposure to the virus.
One Shot, Two Shots or Three?
This part has become confusing because researchers and medical organizations are examining evidence suggesting that one dose may eventually be sufficient for some young people.
But recommendations are still evolving.
Under longstanding CDC guidance, children who begin the HPV vaccine series before their 15th birthday receive two doses, usually six to 12 months apart.
People who start at age 15 or older generally receive three doses. Three doses are also recommended for certain people with weakened immune systems.
Recent research has raised the possibility that a single dose may provide enough protection for some young people. That’s important because eliminating a return visit could make vaccination much easier.
Until recommendations are settled, teens and parents should ask their health care provider what schedule currently applies to them.
This Is Your Health, Too
There’s another reason teenagers should understand the HPV vaccine.
You’re getting old enough to take some ownership of your health.
Ask what’s in your vaccination record. Find out whether you’ve had the HPV vaccine and whether you’ve completed the recommended series. Ask what the vaccine prevents. Ask about side effects and anything else you want to know.
The decision doesn’t have to be made blindly — or just because an adult tells you what to do.
You can learn what HPV is, how it’s transmitted and what scientists have learned during the 20 years the vaccine has been available.
One of the most important things to understand is timing.
The HPV vaccine doesn’t treat an HPV infection you already have. Its job is to prevent infections, which is why doctors want young people protected before they’re exposed.
Sex may seem like an awkward reason to talk about a vaccine.
Cancer prevention shouldn’t be.