Why does my adolescent need a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine?

Key facts

  • A human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in early adolescence (at 12–13 years of age, or year 7 equivalent) is the best way to protect your adolescent from the serious health risks of HPV disease, including cancer.

  • It is important to get the HPV vaccine in early adolescence to get the best possible protection from HPV.

  • Several high-quality studies have confirmed that HPV vaccination is safe.

Last updated on 13 August 2025.

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Why do adolescents of all genders need an HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer?

Adolescents of all genders need a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine because the vaccine protects everyone. While HPV can cause cervical cancer in women, it can also lead to other cancers in people of all genders. This includes cancer of the penis, anus and the mouth/throat.1 The vaccine also protects people against the HPV infections that lead to genital warts.2,3

Adolescents who receive the HPV vaccine on time (at 12–13 years of age or year 7 equivalent) are less likely to catch HPV from a partner when they are older. This leads to fewer people spreading HPV to other people. When more people in the community are vaccinated against HPV, everyone is better protected. This is called ‘herd immunity’.4

Why does my adolescent need an HPV vaccine if they are not sexually active?

It is not better to wait until your adolescent is older to vaccinate them. Research shows the HPV vaccine works best when adolescents are vaccinated at younger ages, before they can catch the virus.5 This is why the vaccine is recommended in Australia to adolescents when they are 12–13 years of age. Vaccinating your adolescent on time gives them the best protection against catching the most common types of HPV.6

Even as an adult, being sexually active with only one partner can still lead to an HPV infection. People with a current HPV infection usually don’t have any symptoms or signs of HPV. This makes it difficult to know whether a person has the virus or not.7

How do we know that the HPV vaccine is safe?

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has looked at safety studies from around the world to compare the health outcomes of people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated against HPV. These studies have been published in countries such as the US, UK, Sweden, Denmark and Japan. This committee has also reviewed a range of potential HPV vaccine side effects reported in the media, including premature ovarian insufficiency syndrome. These safety studies found that these reported health problems were no more likely to occur in people who have been vaccinated than those who are unvaccinated.

Australia has offered HPV vaccination through the National Immunisation Program since 2007 and has never paused or halted the program since.8 Australia's vaccine safety surveillance system AusVaxSafety has continuously monitored the safety of the HPV vaccines in use in Australia since 2018.  

In the 2010s, media in Japan9 and Denmark10,11 published stories from parents and their adolescent daughters claiming the HPV vaccine was linked to serious side effects. Read more below about how the Japanese and Danish governments responded to these public concerns about vaccine safety.

In Japan, the national government did not halt the HPV vaccination program. Instead, it responded by removing active government recommendation of the vaccine.12 The vaccine was still available to anyone who wanted to receive it, though.

Due to the Japanese public having low confidence in this vaccine, between 2013 and 2019 HPV vaccination uptake in Japan was very low. One study estimates this low vaccination could lead to over 20,000 Japanese women being diagnosed with cervical cancer and this could have been prevented by vaccination.13

Since 2021, the Japanese government has returned to actively supporting and recommending the HPV vaccine.12

In Denmark, the government did not halt HPV vaccination because of these media stories. Still, this active government recommendation did not prevent people from being concerned about the safety of the HPV vaccine. To address the public’s safety concerns, the government partnered with doctors’ groups and the Danish Cancer Society to launch a widespread information campaign about the safety of HPV vaccination.14

Since the launch of this information campaign in 2017, Denmark has seen an increase in parents consenting for their children to be vaccinated against HPV.14

Please note: In SKAI Adolescent, the phrase ‘your adolescent’ refers to all guardian relationships where health decisions for an adolescent fall under your responsibility.

Drafts of this page were reviewed by members of our Consumer Advisory Group.


  1. Grulich AE, Jin F, Conway EL et al. Cancers attributable to human papillomavirus infection. Sexual Health 2010;7:244-52
  2. Garland SM, Kjaer SK, Muñoz N et al. Impact and effectiveness of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine: a systematic review of 10 years of real-world experience. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016;63:519-27
  3. Giuliano AR, Palefsky JM, Goldstone S et al. Efficacy of quadrivalent HPV vaccine against HPV infection and disease in males. New England Journal of Medicine 2011;364:401-11
  4. Smith MA, Lew JB, Walker RJ et al. The predicted impact of HPV vaccination on male infections and male HPV-related cancers in Australia. Vaccine 2011;29:9112-122
  5. Iversen OE, Miranda MJ, Ulied A et al. Immunogenicity of the 9-valent HPV vaccine using 2-dose regimens in girls and boys vs a 3-dose regimen in women. JAMA 2016;316:2411-421
  6. Burger EA, Kim JJ, Sy S et al. Age of acquiring causal human papillomavirus (HPV) infections: leveraging simulation models to explore the natural history of HPV-induced cervical cancer. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2017;65:893-99
  7. Ault KA. Epidemiology and natural history of human papillomavirus infections in the female genital tract. Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology 2006;Suppl:40470
  8. Cancer Council Victoria. HPV vaccine safety and side effects. 2023. Available from https://www.hpvvaccine.org.au/hpv-vaccine/hpv-vaccine-safety-and-side-effects
  9. Larson HJ, Wilson R, Hanley S et al. Tracking the global spread of vaccine sentiments: the global response to Japan’s suspension of its HPV vaccine recommendation. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2014;10:2543-50
  10. Suppli CH, Hansen ND, Rasmussen M et al. Decline in HPV-vaccination uptake in Denmark – the association between HPV-related media coverage and HPV-vaccination. BMC Public Health 2018;18:1-8
  11. Zimet GD, Rosberger Z, Fisher WA et al. Beliefs, behaviors and HPV vaccine: correcting the myths and the misinformation. Preventive Medicine 2013; 57:414-18
  12. Haruyama R, Obara H & Fujita N. Japan resumes active recommendations of HPV vaccine after 8.5 years of suspension. The Lancet Oncology 2022;23:197-98
  13. Simms KT, Hanley SJ, Smith MA et al. Impact of HPV vaccine hesitancy on cervical cancer in Japan: a modelling study. The Lancet Public Health 2020;5:e223-34
  14. Bigaard J & Franceschi S. Vaccination against HPV: boosting coverage and tackling misinformation. Molecular Oncology 2021;15:770-78