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IndicationsComposition, forms, route of administrationDose and vaccination scheduleContra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
1 May 2026Vaccines, immunoglobulins and antisera

HPV Vaccine: Schedule and Precautions

HPV vaccine guidance for prevention of premalignant anogenital lesions, cervical cancer, and certain anogenital warts.

Also searched as

HPV vaccineHuman papillomavirus vaccine

Source reviewed

source date listed on the source page

Guide category

Vaccines, immunoglobulins and antisera

Safety boundary

Educational medicine information, not personal medical advice.

Kenza Health Hub presents this medicine page as structured health education. Check dose, route, interactions, pregnancy or breast-feeding considerations, and local protocol with a qualified clinician or pharmacist. Read our medical editorial policy.

This guide page is for structured reference only and does not replace a clinician, pharmacist, or emergency review. Dose choice, route choice, interactions, and safety decisions still need professional judgment.

Indications

  • Prevention of premalignant anogenital lesions, mainly of the cervix, and of cervical cancer due to certain types of papillomavirus.
  • Prevention of anogenital warts due to certain papillomavirus types, particularly 6 and 11, for the quadrivalent vaccine.

Composition, forms, route of administration

  • Recombinant bivalent vaccine against HPV types 16 and 18 or quadrivalent vaccine against HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18.
  • Suspension for injection in monodose or multidose vials, only for the bivalent vaccine, for IM injection into the deltoid muscle.

Dose and vaccination schedule

Child from 9 to 14 years

  • 2 doses of 0.5 ml at least 6 months apart.
  • If the 2 doses are administered less than 5 months apart, a third dose is administered at least 6 months and up to 12 months after the first dose.

Immunocompromised or HIV-infected individuals

  • 2 doses of 0.5 ml 1 or 2 months apart then a third dose 6 months after the first dose.

Additional note

  • Most vaccination programmes only target young females because they are the group most at risk of papillomavirus complications.
  • High vaccination coverage in girls reduces the risk of infection for boys. For vaccination of boys, follow national recommendations.
  • In individuals 15 years and over, the vaccine is administered in 3 doses as in immunocompromised individuals.

Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions

  • Do not administer in the event of allergic reactions to a previous dose of papillomavirus vaccine.
  • Vaccination should be postponed in the event of severe acute febrile illness; minor infections are not contra-indications.
  • May cause mild reactions at the injection site, fever, headache, myalgia, and rarely post-vaccination syncope or anaphylactic reactions.
  • If administered simultaneously with other vaccines, use different syringes and injection sites.
  • Pregnancy: avoid.
  • Breast-feeding: no contra-indication.
  • Shake before use to homogenise the vaccine.

Source

MSF Essential drugs practical guidelines (January 2026)

This page combines source-derived medicine reference sections with Kenza editorial context, while leaving out the Storage and Remarks sections from the source batch.

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