HPV vaccine benefits even women who don't get the shots

[xchrom]

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/09/12645949-hpv-vaccine-benefits-even-women-who-dont-get-the-shots?lite

The human papillomavirus vaccine provides a benefit to women even if they are not vaccinated, via a phenomenon known as herd immunity, a new study suggests.
Among the women in the study, there was a decrease in the percentage who were infected with the four HPV strains included in the vaccine (HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18) in the years after the vaccine was introduced, compared with earlier years.
This decrease in HPV prevalence was seen among both vaccinated and unvaccinated women, the researchers said.
The findings show that even with relatively low rates of women getting vaccinated, the vaccine produces some degree of herd immunity — protection of unvaccinated people that occurs because a critical portion of the population has been innoculated.

[cbayer]

1. Had not considered this, but it makes perfect sense.

[kestrel91316]

2. I know this is going to come as a complete shock to some people, but

THIS IS TRUE OF ALL VACCINES.

[cbayer]

3. Wouldn't it only work in the cases of person to person transmission?

I doesn't seem like it would work that way for, say, tetanus.

[TheWraith]

4. Tetanus is the only vaccine-preventable disease that is infectious but not contagious. nt

[kestrel91316]

5. Well that is a special case - it's a bacterial infection and not contagious.

But the vast majority of vaccines are for INFECTIOUS diseases that spear throughout the population from person to person.

[busy being free]

7. Splendid!

Matter of fact, I plan to ask for TEN shots all at once! The more the merrier!