Salon.com > HPV

Report: HPV rates remain high because parents won’t vaccinate

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:45:00 +0000

A report published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that while cancer rates overall continue to decline in the U.S., rates of human papilloma virus-related cancers remain high.

Here's the insane part: This doesn't have to be the case! There is a vaccine that could help stem the number of cancer deaths -- of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, pharynx, anus and throat -- related to HPV each year. It's just that not enough kids are getting it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began mandating the Gardasil shot for school entry, but parents refused, believing it would only promote sexual activity. (Even though research shows that's not case.) In 2010, fewer than half of girls aged 13-17 had received even one dose of the vaccine, while only 32 percent had received the recommended three doses, according to the report.

The war on 12-year-old girls

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:05:00 +0000

Behold the scariest, most dangerous creature in America: the 12-year-old girl. Better shut her down.

It's been an alarmingly terrible week for girls. There's been the sickening story of the death of Amanda Todd, whose odyssey of bullying and shaming began when she was a curious seventh-grader who responded to a webcam user's request for a "flash" of her young breasts. On the bright side, though, there was also the cheery news that vaccinations won't turn 11- and 12-year-old girls into dirty whores. That's got to be some form of possible advancement for female health, because "promiscuity risk" is still the No. 1 concern parents have about Gardasil, the vaccine against the HPV virus that can lead to cervical cancer. Great to know we live in a country where families are more worried about the imaginary risk of their daughters' sexual behavior than the real one of viruses and cancer.

The HPV vaccine won’t turn your daughters into tramps

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:58:00 +0000

You can rest easy, folks. Apparently protecting our daughters from the HPV virus — and, by extension, the threat of cervical cancer — won't turn her into a raging slutmonster. A new three-year Kaiser Permanete/Emory University study published this week in the journal Pediatrics reveals that girls who've been vaccinated with Gardasil at ages 11 and 12 showed no higher rates of pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and contraceptive use than girls who hadn't. The results of the study made major headlines Monday, with CBS News reassuring us that "HPV Shots Don't Make Girls Promiscuous." MedPage declared, "HPV Vaccine No 'License for Sex' in Girls." So I guess it's cool to vaccinate them after all! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Doctor Who, because I need a Time Lord to explain to me why this crap is still even an issue in 2012.

HPV vaccine doesn’t promote promiscuity

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:40:00 +0000

A new study should put to bed arguments that vaccinating young people against common HPV strains promotes promiscuity. Research published Monday in the journal Pediatrics found no correlation between vaccination and sexual behavior.

As the New York Times reported, "Looking at a sample of nearly 1,400 girls, the researchers found no evidence that those who were vaccinated beginning around age 11 went on to engage in more sexual activity than girls who were not vaccinated."

HPV -- in its main thousand strains -- is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S.; one-third of 14- to 19-year-olds are carriers. "Federal health officials began recommending in 2006 that girls be vaccinated as early as age 11 and last year made a similar recommendation for preadolescent boys. The idea is to immunize boys and girls before they become sexually active to maximize the vaccine’s protective effects," the Times reported.

Do boys really need the HPV vaccine?

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:00:00 +0000

It was bound to happen – five years after its approval for girls, the CDC has this week unanimously recommended the HPV vaccine as part of routine healthcare for boys.

The HPV virus is ridiculously easy to pass along. Because it's not transmitted via body fluid, you can get it even if you diligently use condoms. It's estimated that up to 70 percent of all sexually active men and women will get it at some point. Most won't even know they ever had it. Some will get genital warts. Some – like I did – will develop precancerous cells in their cervixes. And some will go on to get cervical cancer. The virus has also been linked to other diseases -- it's no coincidence that the CDC's recommendation comes on the heels of new research linking the HPV vaccine to the prevention of anal cancer.

You'd think that a breakthrough that can prevent multiple forms of cancer would be relatively uncontroversial. But that three-dose regimen of Gardasil has become a flashpoint in both political and parental debates, setting off vigorous conversations over public health and the implied future sexual health of a generation of children.