Ask Mr. Dad: HPV vaccine smart for both boys and girls
Dear Mr. Dad: I have boy/girl twins who are 11. Their pediatrician suggested that my daughter get a vaccine for HPV, but he didn’t offer it to my son. I’ve got three questions. First, why didn’t he suggest the vaccine for my son? Second, why are they offering a vaccine against sexually transmitted diseases to 11-year-olds anyway – isn’t that too early? Third, it seems to me that vaccinating kids against STDs will only make them more likely to have sex and less careful than they ordinarily would be. Am I right?
A. That’s a lot of questions, so let’s jump right in. But a warning: This column will include some adult words, so reader discretion is advised.
Your pediatrician should have recommended the HPV vaccine to your son. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vast majority of a number of cancers are attributed to HPV. For girls, these include cancer of the cervix or anus (over 90 percent), vagina and throat (over 75 percent). Boys are just as susceptible to anal and throat cancers, plus HPV causes nearly two thirds of cancers of the penis. HPV is also linked with nearly 100 percent of genital warts – an equal opportunity STD.
The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, has been proven to be extremely effective in preventing all of these conditions in boys as well as girls. The FDA just approved a new version of Gardasil. The old one protected against four strains of HPV. The new one, Gardasil 9, may prevent nearly 100 percent of genital warts, 90 percent of cervical, vaginal, and anal cancers, and a majority of other HPV-linked cancers.
HPV is most often caused by sexual contact, and either sex can be a carrier. Not vaccinating boys puts them in danger of contracting HPV from a sexual partner – and of spreading it to others. So ask the doctor to order the vaccine for your son. If he or she won’t, I’d find one who will.
The reason the HPV vaccine is being offered to young kids is that it’s far more effective if the person getting it hasn’t become sexually active yet. Hopefully, 11-year olds are years away from that. But children are having sexual contact at much younger ages than we did, and HPV can be spread from oral-genital contact as well as intercourse. In addition, at least one researcher even says there’s evidence that kissing may spread HPV, according to McGill University (in Canada) researcher Kristina R. Dahlstrom.
As successful as the HPV vaccine is, one might think that parents would be lining up to get their children vaccinated. But you’d be wrong. Way wrong. The New York City Health Department found earlier this year that of children 13-17, only 47 percent of boys and 64 percent of girls have received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. However, in order to be most effective, three doses are recommended. But just 22 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls have received all three.
One of the most common reasons parents give for not vaccinating their children is that they’re afraid the vaccine will encourage risky sexual behavior. Turns out that isn’t true. Another McGill University researcher, Leah M. Smith, did a study of more than 125,000 girls and compared HPV vaccine rates with STD and pregnancy rates. They found that “HPV vaccination does not have any significant effect on clinical indicators of sexual behaviour among adolescent girls.” Their conclusion? “These results suggest that concerns over increased promiscuity following HPV vaccination are unwarranted and should not deter from vaccinating at a young age.”