Phone: (516) 487-8207
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an influential government panel, has voted on a recommendation for boys to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine, a step normally recommended for girls.
The HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine is meant to prevent cervical cancer, which occurs 15,000 times per year for females, and anal cancer, which occurs 7,000 times per year for males. Both sexes are approved for inoculation between ages 9 and 26, and usually take it at age 11 or 12. One area of pushback from parents is that this age is too early for kids to be thinking about sex, but proponents say the vaccine is effective only if it is administered before the child becomes sexually active.
The worry regarding males and HPV is three-fold. There is the risk of genital warts, the risk of anal cancer (against which the vaccine is 75% effective), and the risk of passing it on to girls who may develop cervical cancer.
Meanwhile, few males and females take the vaccine. Fewer than half of girls have taken one of the recommended three shots and just a third have taken all three. Some studies show that only 1.5% of young males have received the shot. This is partially due to parents' squeamishness about their children's sexuality. For men, it may also be due to parents' reluctance to consider that their sons may be gay.
But the advisory committee sees this as beside the point. With their recommendation -- the first to strongly recommend regular vaccination -- federal health officials are expected to take up the cause as they usually do after the panel releases its views.
MORE INFO:
If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
Read More About Panel Recommends HPV Vaccine for Boys...
