The STIs You Can Actually Vaccinate Against

Which STIs can you vaccinate against?

Four sexually transmitted infections are vaccine-preventable: HPV, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, and mpox. Two of them — HPV and hepatitis B — are covered by vaccines already built into the routine U.S. immunization schedule, so many people are protected before they are ever sexually active. The other two protect people in specific situations. The table below is the whole list at a glance; each vaccine has its own page with the detail on timing, cost, and who benefits most.

No vaccine yet exists for HIV, herpes, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, or hepatitis C — but each of those has its own way to be prevented, treated, or cured.

HPV: the vaccine that prevents several cancers

HPV is the most common STI in the United States, and it is the clearest case for vaccination 1Ref 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Human Papillomavirus (HPV).That HPV is the most common STI in the U.S., that most infections clear on their own, and that a persistent high-risk-type infection can progress to cancer.. Most HPV infections clear on their own, but a persistent infection with a high-risk type can develop into cancer years later — cervical cancer most of all, plus some anal, penile, vaginal, vulvar, and throat cancers 1Ref 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Human Papillomavirus (HPV).That HPV is the most common STI in the U.S., that most infections clear on their own, and that a persistent high-risk-type infection can progress to cancer.. The vaccine prevents the infections that cause those cancers, which is why it is given before exposure.

In the U.S., HPV vaccination is routine at ages 11–12 and can start at 9; catch-up vaccination is recommended through age 26, and some adults between 27 and 45 may benefit after a shared-decision conversation with a clinician 2Ref 2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) (2024).ACIP Recommendations: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine.The U.S. HPV vaccination schedule: routine at ages 11-12 (can start at 9), catch-up through age 26, and shared clinical decision-making for some adults 27-45.. Because the hpv vaccine works best before any exposure to the virus, earlier is more protective — but it is not pointless later, and the adult question is worth discussing individually.

The HPV vaccine is, in practical terms, a cancer-prevention vaccine that happens to be given for an STI.

Hepatitis B: vaccinating against a liver infection

Hepatitis B is a liver infection spread through blood, semen, and other body fluids — including through sex and from parent to newborn — and it is vaccine-preventable 3Ref 3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Hepatitis B Basics.That hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable liver infection spread through blood, semen, and other body fluids (including sexual and perinatal transmission), that vaccination is the best prevention, and that it is not spread by casual contact, sharing utensils, or breastfeeding.. Vaccination is the best protection, and it is now routine starting at birth, so younger adults are often already covered 3Ref 3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Hepatitis B Basics.That hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable liver infection spread through blood, semen, and other body fluids (including sexual and perinatal transmission), that vaccination is the best prevention, and that it is not spread by casual contact, sharing utensils, or breastfeeding.. It is not spread by casual contact, sharing utensils, or breastfeeding, which is a common and unnecessary fear 3Ref 3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Hepatitis B Basics.That hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable liver infection spread through blood, semen, and other body fluids (including sexual and perinatal transmission), that vaccination is the best prevention, and that it is not spread by casual contact, sharing utensils, or breastfeeding..

For adults who were never vaccinated, the hepatitis B vaccine is available and recommended broadly. A long-running infection can quietly damage the liver over decades, so preventing it up front avoids a problem that is far harder to manage once it becomes chronic.

Hepatitis A and mpox: two more, for specific situations

Two more vaccines round out the list, and both are aimed at people in higher-risk situations rather than the whole population. The hepatitis a vaccine prevents a liver infection that can spread through oral–anal contact and has driven outbreaks among men who have sex with men; its dedicated page covers who is advised to get it. The mpox vaccine — JYNNEOS — protects against mpox, which can spread through close skin-to-skin and sexual contact; eligibility depends on exposure risk and is covered in detail on the mpox vaccine page.

Because both are situation-specific, the useful question is less "is there a vaccine" — there is — and more "am I in a group it is recommended for," which is exactly what those pages walk through.

The STIs with no vaccine — and what actually protects you

Most STIs still have no vaccine, but "no vaccine" does not mean "no protection." For HIV, the alternative is remarkably effective: PrEP, taken as prescribed, lowers the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% and from injection drug use by at least 74% 4Ref 4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Clinical Guidance for PrEP.That there is no HIV vaccine but PrEP, taken as prescribed, reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% and from injection drug use by at least 74%, and that PrEP does not protect against other STIs.. It is a daily pill or a periodic injection rather than a one-time shot, but it fills the role a vaccine would.

• Herpes and syphilis spread by skin-to-skin contact, so condoms lower risk only partially, because they do not cover every area that can transmit infection 5Ref 5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Condom Use: An Overview.That consistent, correct condom use is highly effective against STIs spread in genital fluids but only partial protection against skin-to-skin STIs such as herpes, syphilis, and HPV.. Regular testing and treatment carry the rest of the load.
• Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis have no vaccine, but each is curable with the right treatment once diagnosed — which is why screening matters so much.
• Hepatitis C has no vaccine either, but it is now curable: a course of direct-acting antiviral pills cures more than 95% of people 6Ref 6Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Treatment of Hepatitis C.That hepatitis C is curable, with direct-acting antiviral treatment curing more than 95% of patients, even though no hepatitis C vaccine exists..

The pattern is that vaccine-preventable STIs are the exception. For everything else, prevention is a mix of condoms, testing, treatment, and, for HIV, PrEP.

Why a vaccine is worth more than treating the infection later

A vaccine works before exposure and can prevent an infection you would otherwise have to catch, notice, and treat — and some STIs cause damage before anyone notices them. HPV is the sharpest example: it usually has no symptoms, and by the time it causes a cancer, the window to prevent that cancer has long passed 1Ref 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Human Papillomavirus (HPV).That HPV is the most common STI in the U.S., that most infections clear on their own, and that a persistent high-risk-type infection can progress to cancer.. A vaccine closes that gap entirely.

Vaccines also cover ground that condoms cannot. Condoms are highly effective against infections spread in genital fluids, but only partial protection against skin-to-skin infections like HPV, herpes, and syphilis, because transmission can happen from areas a condom does not cover 5Ref 5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).Condom Use: An Overview.That consistent, correct condom use is highly effective against STIs spread in genital fluids but only partial protection against skin-to-skin STIs such as herpes, syphilis, and HPV.. A vaccine does not depend on covering the right area at the right moment. That is why, for the handful of STIs where one exists, vaccination is the strongest single move — and for the rest, layering condoms, testing, and treatment is the realistic equivalent.