- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- One dead, 7 missing as heavy rains trigger floods in central Japan
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
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.
O.Krause--BTB