The HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix are less likely to benefit Black women according to a new study published last month by the Duke University School of Medicine. The vaccine has been credited with cutting the risk of cervical cancer in teen girls in half; however, Black women are more often infected with the strains of HPV that the vaccine does not cure.

HPV causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer, and there are nearly 100 different strains. The study revealed that Black women are less likely to be infected with the strains treated by the popular vaccines leaving us without the protection we need. Black women have higher rates of cervical cancer than the general population.