- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
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Single HPV shot enough for young women: WHO experts
A single vaccine shot against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, delivers comparable protection for girls and women under 21 as two doses, the WHO's immunisation experts said.
"This could be a game-changer for the prevention of the disease, seeing more doses of the life-saving jab reach more girls," the World Health Organization said.
More than 95 percent of cervical cancer is caused by sexually-transmitted HPV, which is the fourth most common type of cancer in women globally.
Almost entirely preventable, the disease is often referred to as the "silent killer".
The WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) evaluated new evidence that single-dose schedules provide comparable efficacy to two- or three-dose regimens.
They concluded that one shot delivers solid protection against HPV.
"SAGE urges all countries to introduce HPV vaccines," the group's chair Alejandro Cravioto said Monday.
"These recommendations will enable more girls and women to be vaccinated and thus preventing them from having cervical cancer and all its consequences over the course of their lifetimes."
SAGE recommended a one or two-dose schedule for girls aged nine to 14; the same for young women aged 15 to 20; and two doses with a six-month interval for women over 21.
Immunocompromised individuals should receive three doses if feasible.
The new recommendations replace the old guidelines of two doses among girls aged nine to 14, and three shots for girls and women aged 15 and over.
More than 340,000 women died from cervical cancer in 2020.
"I firmly believe the elimination of cervical cancer is possible," said WHO assistant director-general Nono Simelela.
"This single-dose recommendation has the potential to take us faster to our goal of having 90 percent of girls vaccinated by the age of 15 by 2030."
Global uptake of the vaccine has been slow, and far short of the 2030 target, due to supply challenges, the cost of delivering two doses and with older girls falling outside of routine childhood immunisation programmes.
SAGE said the vaccine supply situation was improving in the short and medium term.
Girls aged nine to 14 should be the primary target for vaccination, then older girls and women who have missed out on the jabs, the group said.
The vaccination of boys and men -- with a one- or two-dose regimen -- should be managed carefully until there is an unconstrained vaccine supply, said SAGE.
Y.Ibrahim--CPN