No, it’s still important to continue to have regular cervical smear tests as part of the UK cervical screening programme.

Doctors believe that most abnormal changes in the cervix that need treatment (CIN2 and CIN3) are caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Although having the HPV vaccine may reduce the risk of CIN and cervical cancer, it can’t take it away altogether.

There are two reasons for this:

The vaccine only protects you against infection from HPV types 16 and 18.

Types 16 and 18 cause most cases of CIN2 and 3 but not all of them. About 20 to 30 out of every 100 cases of CIN2 and 3 have other causes, including other types of HPV. So, although your risk of CIN and cancer are reduced you could still develop changes due to one of these causes.

No vaccines are completely effective.

So it’s possible you could still become infected with HPV types 16 and 18 despite the vaccine.