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October 25, 2011 in Nation/World
Boys should get HPV vaccine too, panel says
ATLANTA — The controversial HPV shot given to girls should also be given to boys, in part to help prevent the spread of the virus through sex, a government medical panel said today.
The expensive vaccine, which protects females against cervical cancer, hasn’t been popular. And doctors admit it will be a tough sell to parents of 11- and 12-year-old males, too.
For males, the vaccine is licensed to prevent genital warts and anal cancer. Experts say another key benefit of routinely vaccinating boys could be preventing the spread of the human papilloma virus to others through sex — making up somewhat for the disappointing vaccination rate in girls.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the recommendation Tuesday. Federal health officials usually adopt what the panel says and asks doctors and patients to follow the advice.
The vaccine has been available to boys for two years but Tuesday’s vote was the first to strongly recommend routine vaccination. Officials acknowledged the disappointing rate in girls encouraged them to take a new, hard look.
Just 49 percent of adolescent girls have gotten at least the first of the recommended three HPV shots, which have been recommended for girls for five years. Only a third had gotten all three doses by last year.
“Pretty terrible,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administrator who oversees the agency’s immunization programs.
She attributed the low rates for girls to confusion or misunderstanding by parents that they can wait until their daughter becomes sexually active. It works best if the shots are given before a girl begins having sex.
The vaccine is approved for use in boys and girls ages 9 to 26; but it is usually given to 11- and 12-year olds when they are scheduled to get other vaccines.
The committee also recommended the vaccination for males 13 through 21 years who have not been vaccinated previously or who have not completed the three-dose series.
Tuesday’s vote follows recent studies that indicate the vaccine prevents anal cancer in males. A study that focused on gay men found it to be 75 percent effective. But while anal cancer has been increasing, it’s still a fairly rare cancer in males, with only about 7,000 cases in the U.S. each year that are tied to the strains of viruses targeted in the HPV vaccine. In contrast, about vaccine-preventable 15,000 cervical cancers occur annually.
Some feel it’s unlikely that most families will agree to get their sons vaccinated primarily to protect girls. An estimated 50 percent to 80 percent of men and women are infected with HPV in their lifetimes, although most clear the infection without developing symptoms or illness, according to the CDC.
The threat of genital warts hasn’t been persuasive yet, either: Some data suggest that less than 1.5 percent of adolescent males have gotten the vaccine.
Its use against anal cancer may not be much of a selling point, said Dr. Ranit Mishori, a family practice doctor in Washington, D.C., and an assistant professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Some parents may say “‘Why are you vaccinating my son against anal cancer? He’s not gay! He’s not ever going to be gay!’ I can see that will come up,” said Mishori, who supports the committee’s recommendation.
There are two vaccines against HPV, but Tuesday’s vote applies only to Merck & Co.’s Gardasil, which costs $130 a dose. The other vaccine wasn’t tested for males.
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 25 at 9:42 a.m.
Excellent idea.
Seems like parents are worried that “if my child is vaccinated against STD’s, then s/he will start hoeing around even younger than s/he would have otherwise.” I dunno. If I’d been vaccinated at age 12 and told “this will protect you against the CANCER that you can get from having sex, but not from all the other stuff,” it would have scared the living daylights out of me. Just sayin.
(Longer article, from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/health/policy/26vaccine.html?hp)
BlondeSquawker on October 25 at 9:59 a.m.
Oh no! Not my precious snowflake!
Someone call Michelle Bachmann, stat!
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 25 at 10:17 a.m.
^ ^ ^ oh, I just thought of something. Adjust my previous post to say “this will help protect you against the cancer you can get from having sex — OR EVEN IF YOU DON’T GET CANCER YOU MIGHT STILL GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE — but not from all the other diseases that you can give to other people without knowing that you have them, and that other people can give you without knowing they have them.”
Hunterman on October 25 at 10:24 a.m.
Just teach the horny little buggers to keep it in their pants.
SpokyDaBear on October 25 at 11:42 a.m.
Big pharma trying to make even more money by forcing kids to buy their wares…
tylerr on October 25 at 11:42 a.m.
I agree with Hunterman, keep it in their pants.
Here’s a thought. How about teaching our children to respect themselves and others. If a guy truly respects himself and a woman, he would never put himself or the woman/girl in a situation where they would have to compromise in having sex.
Society, TV & Movies, make it seem the norm to have sex with whomever. The formula is “Sex, Love, Marriage” and if that doesn’t work with someone, then you just divorce and repeat the process all over again. All along the way, giving pieces of yourself away to each person.
If we give these vaccinations to our children, we are encouraging that behavior.
Instead, we should be teaching our children a better formula for relationships. First establish a healthy stable relationship, then move to marriage, and then your sexual relationship will be that much more rewarding.
Plus, you won’t need to worry about contracting some disease or illness if you haven’t been with multiple partners.
Abstinence is truly the smartest and most rewarding way. But, sadly….. society and Hollywood’s way to relationships is more enticing.
It truly is disheartening…..
Gato on October 25 at 11:48 a.m.
So there’s a vaccine against cancer, and people are opposing it? Here’s my counterargument: There’s a vaccine. Against cancer.
Diana on October 25 at 12:13 p.m.
Because abstinence works?
de3 on October 25 at 12:30 p.m.
Just did some super rough calculations - if we vaccinated 1/2 of girls and 1/2 of boys each year and make some really broad brush assumptions - it would cost about 1/4 million $ for each prevented case of cervical cancer. That assumes that all cervical cancer is caused by HPV and the vaccine is 100% effective (in reality it is only 70% effective for this, not 100%). It would cost about 3/4 million $ for each life saved (not all cases of cervical cancer are fatal). (But in reality, its probaby closer to $1 million for each save.)
The above numbers are super rough and should only be viewed as an “on the order of” calculation. The costs would be mostly borne by those who are not beneficiaries, and some will be harmed by the vaccine.
I have no idea what is the right or wrong choice to make. I’m just making an observation. Perhaps the discussion is more complex than is taking place in these comments.
misjustice on October 25 at 1:20 p.m.
IF I had kids they would NEVER have sex, so I don’t see the point.
BlondeSquawker on October 25 at 1:57 p.m.
I just sew my kids into one-piece, Mormon-sanctioned underwear. ; P
My youngest’s nick name is “SkidMark”.
crazyivan44 on October 25 at 2:06 p.m.
Raise your kids right and when the time is right leave it to them to make the decision for themselves. Nobody should be coerced to get ANY vaccine they don’t want to get, not just this one. If you are aware of both sides of the coin and make a choice then you can’t say you were not informed.
Welcome_Black_Carter on October 25 at 3:15 p.m.
“SkidMark” sounds spot on for tagging your offspring…… good call BSqawk…
Diana on October 25 at 3:49 p.m.
No worries. Abstinence totally works! That’s why unwanted pregnancy, AIDS, gonorrhea, chlamydia and the virus that causes cervical cancer have been totally eradicated.
crazyivan44 on October 25 at 3:56 p.m.
If parents would raise their kids with morals and boundaries instead of letting MTV dictate their values we’d have less kids whoring around, and therefore less unwanted pregnancy, AIDS, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and cervical cancer. Never know if abstinence works or not unless they try it!
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 25 at 5:07 p.m.
^ It’s always worked in the past…
Pigrobin on October 25 at 5:07 p.m.
My daughters got the HPV series of shots and I’m glad they did. If 50 to 80% of men and women get infected in their life time, how is it a bad idea? I guess if you know you’re in the 30% that won’t get it (abstinence folks), then no worries.
Diana on October 25 at 5:21 p.m.
“If parents would raise their kids with morals and boundaries instead of letting MTV dictate their values we’d have less kids whoring around…”
But parents don’t necessarily raise their kids with your morals and boundaries, do they, CrazyIvan? And do kids always do what their parents teach them? No,
Hence, the vaccine. I hope every kid gets it.
misjustice on October 25 at 8:03 p.m.
Abstinence only! It totally worked for Bristol Palin!