Should I get the HPV vaccine?

August 31, 2026

If you've heard talk about the HPV vaccine but aren't sure if it's for you, then you've come to the right place. Read on to learn about the HPV vaccine and why it's almost certainly worth doing.

What is HPV, and why does the vaccine matter?

Human papillomavirus is extremely common. There are over 100 types of it, and most sexually active people will pick one up at some point, usually just from skin-to-skin contact. Most of the time your body deals with it and clears it without you ever noticing.

The catch is a smaller group of “high-risk” strains. Left alone for years, these can cause cell changes that eventually turn into cancer - cervical, anal, penile, vulval, vaginal, even some cancers of the mouth and throat. There's also a separate group of low-risk strains that cause genital warts. These are not particularly harmful, but it’s best to take precaution.

The vaccine used in the UK, Gardasil 9, protects against nine of these strains, including the two responsible for around three-quarters of cervical cancers, and the two behind roughly 90% of genital warts, according to NHS guidance.

Who is eligible for the HPV vaccine on the NHS?

Per NHS eligibility criteria, you can get it for free if you're in one of these groups:

Children aged 12-13 (school year 8), offered routinely through school immunisation services.
Girls aged 24 and under, and boys born after 1 September 2006 aged 24 and under, who missed it at school, you can catch up via your school nurse, school vaccination team, or GP surgery, up to your 25th birthday.
Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, aged 45 and under, available free through sexual health or HIV clinics, up to your 46th birthday.
Other higher-risk groups, including sex workers, people living with HIV, and transgender people, are assessed to have a comparable risk profile.

"But I've already been sexually active - is it still worth it?"

This is the question almost everyone asks, and it's a fair one. One thing people often get wrong is thinking the vaccine clears HPV. It doesn't. If you've already picked up one strain, the vaccine won't get rid of it, but you could still be protected against strains you haven't encountered. Mayo Clinic notes that even if you have one strain of HPV, you might still benefit from the vaccine, since it can protect you from other strains that you don't yet have.

That's why the advice for adults isn't a flat “yes, get it” the way it is for teens - it shifts to “talk to someone about your specific situation,” especially if you're in your late 20s through mid-40s and outside the standard catch-up window. A GP, pharmacist, or sexual health clinic can actually help you weigh it up rather than guess.

Is it safe? What are the side effects?

The safety record here is well established at this point. A review of adverse-event data on PMC found no consistent pattern tying the vaccine to serious harm, which is reassuring given how long it's been monitored for. When side effects do show up, they're usually mild and don't stick around long:

Soreness, swelling, or redness at the injection site
Headache
A mild temperature
Dizziness or, occasionally, fainting shortly after the injection (staying seated for a few minutes afterwards helps)
Nausea or tiredness

Serious reactions, such as a severe allergic response (anaphylaxis), are very rare, and staff who administer the vaccine are trained to treat this immediately if it happens. The only people who genuinely shouldn't have the vaccine are those who've had a serious allergic reaction to a previous dose or to one of its ingredients, and people who are currently unwell should simply wait until they've recovered.

So should you get it?

If you're 12–25 (or a parent of a child in that range) and haven't been vaccinated, this is a fairly clear yes - it's free, well-evidenced, and most effective before or early in sexual activity.

If you're a man aged 45 or under who has sex with men, you're eligible for free vaccination and at higher risk from HPV, so it's well worth taking up.

If you're over 25 and outside the eligible groups, it's a more personal decision. The vaccine can still offer meaningful protection against strains you haven't encountered, but it isn't free on the NHS, so it's worth a conversation with a GP, pharmacist, or private clinic about your own risk factors and whether paying for it privately makes sense for you.

Whatever your vaccination status, if you're eligible for cervical screening, keep attending, the vaccine and screening work together, not as substitutes for each other.