We all seem to be navigating a lot out there right now. One place I can help parents navigate is with science-based medical information about the HPV vaccine. It’s so important to protect our children from HPV because doing so can protect them from the cancers caused by some types of the virus. Let’s talk about HPV and clear up some misconceptions about this cancer-preventing vaccine.
HPV: What it is, why it’s dangerous
HPV is a common group of viruses that at some point almost every person will get. Most will never know they have it, but other times, the immune system can’t fight it off. Eventually, some strains of the virus can directly cause cancer such as cervical and vaginal cancer.
HPV causes approximately 36,000 cases of cancer in the U.S. each year. Globally, HPV is responsible for 690,000 new cancer cases and 310,000 cervical cancer deaths annually. This is heartbreaking because many of the deaths are preventable.
We can protect our children — boys and girls — against these kinds of HPV-caused cancers with the HPV vaccine. In fact, within the first 12 years of the U.S. vaccination program, HPV infections decreased by 88% in 14- to 19-year-olds and by 81% in 20- to 24-year-olds due to direct vaccine effects and herd immunity.
You can read the basics about the vaccine and how to talk to your children in my 2022 column: What to know about the HPV vaccine and your kids.
HPV vaccine: Who needs it, and when
The HPV vaccine is recommended for both boys and girls, as anyone can get HPV or transmit it. The vaccine is recommended between the ages of 9 and 12. Research also shows that the vaccine seems to work better with preteen immune systems. HPV can be transmitted by many kinds of intimate exploration not just through bodily fluids or intercourse. It’s best to get the vaccine before being exposed to HPV.
HPV vaccination does not affect people’s reproduction or fertility. But cancer from HPV does affect reproductive health and, in some cases, can lead to infertility. With HPV vaccination, we are trying to avoid these cancers and the risks that go along with them.
There are 30 years of research tracking the HPV vaccine’s effects, showing it is safe and effective to use. This includes clinical trials with over 70,000 people with up to 14 years of follow-up monitoring after vaccination. This vaccine is used in more than 80 countries around the world with no serious safety concerns.
HPV and the vaccine: more facts
You can become infected with HPV without having intercourse. HPV spreads through skin contact, not through bodily fluids, so many kinds of intimate exploration and contact can lead to HPV. Unfortunately, a person infected with HPV may have no symptoms and spread the infection (and the risk for cancer) without knowing it.
Getting the HPV vaccine is not sending the message to have sex, it’s sending the message to care for our bodies and health. It’s a vaccine that’s about staying healthy over a lifetime, not just at the time it’s recommended to be given. While it may be hard to manage the idea that at some point your children will be sexually active teens or adults, getting the vaccine at the ages of 9 to 12 can help protect them later in life.
You can find further information on reputable websites like the CDC or by talking to your clinician.
There are a few more myths to quickly address in case you’ve run across them online or elsewhere: the vaccine (Gardasil) has not been banned anywhere, the vaccine is not infectious and the vaccine cannot cause cancer.
As with any vaccine, each family needs to weigh any risks against the benefits to health. Getting a cancer-preventing vaccine is like eating well and exercising, they can help keep our bodies healthy over a lifetime.
More from Dr. Block and Kaiser Permanente in Seattle’s Child:
