Key points in the document include: 

 1. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and other diseases in females caused by certain types of genital human papillomavirus (HPV). The quadrivalent vaccine, Gardasil®, protects against four HPV types (6,11,16, 18). On June 29, 2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP* ) voted to recommend use of this vaccine in females, ages 9-26 years. This is a prophylactic vaccine, made from non-infectious HPV-like particles (VLP).
 2. The HPV vaccine is recommended for 11-12 year-old girls, but can be administered to girls as young as 9 years of age. The vaccine also is recommended for 13-26 year-old females who have not yet received or completed the vaccine series.
 3. The vaccine should be administered before onset of sexual activity. If a girl or woman is already infected with one of the HPV types in the vaccine, the vaccine will not prevent disease from that type. Females who have not been infected with the four HPV types (6, 11, 16, 18), would receive the full benefit of vaccination. Females who already have been infected with one or more HPV type would still get protection from the vaccine types they have not acquired. Few young women are infected with all four HPV types in the vaccine. Currently, there is no test available for clinical use to determine whether a female has had any or all of the four HPV types in the vaccine.
 4. The duration of vaccine protection is unclear. Current studies (with five-year follow-up) indicate that the vaccine is effective for at least five years.
 5. The vaccine should be delivered through a series of three intra-muscular injections over a six-month period. The second and third doses should be given 2 and 6 months after the first dose. Full benefits of the vaccine can only be achieved if the series is complete.
 6. Cervical cancer screening recommendations have not changed for females who receive the HPV vaccine. The vaccine will NOT provide protection against all types of HPV that cause cervical cancer, just the four HPV types (6, 11, 16, 18).

MOST IMPORTANT: The vaccine will not prevent all types of HPV or genital warts—nor will it prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) People, who are sexually active, with more than one partner, or a partner that has had more than one partner are still at risk.