What’s the best way to protect teenage girls from sexually transmitted diseases? Some doctors say the answer is to vaccinate boys.

More than 65 million Americans – that’s one in five – carry a sexually transmitted disease. The most common one – the human papillomavirus, or HPV – affects more than half of sexually active Americans at some point, according to the federal government.

Since 2007, health officials have recommended that adolescent girls get vaccinated against HPV because it can lead to cervical cancer later in life.

Now, they’re also suggesting the vaccine for boys to prevent genital warts and anal cancer, rare symptoms of HPV. But for some doctors, vaccinating boys is also a favored new strategy in preventing the spread of the virus to girls. Read more. 

Would you want your kids to receive this vaccine?

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