HPV Vaccine for Boys

The CDC has recommended that all boys age 11-12 receive the HPV vaccine in order to prevent the risk of them developing anal and throat cancers and, as well, to decrease the risk of their transmitting the HPV virus to female partners.  This is the same vaccine that is already approved for girls from 9-26 and has proven to decrease the risk of abnormal Pap smears and cancers of the cervix, vagina, and vulva.  Articles about these CDC recommendation appeared on 10/26/11 in the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.

Sexual activity among young people is extremely common, and barrier contraception is not often used.  In addition, there is a growing segment of this population that believes oral-genital sex is not the same as intercourse and that it is somehow a safer form of sexual activity.  This incorrect assumption (along with sex between men) is a likely reason for the increase in anal and throat cancers caused by the HPV virus.

Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, abstinence is the best way to prevent this disease transmission and the cancers that accompany it; for those that are sexually active or who will at some time become sexually active, vaccination against the HPV virus is the safest, smartest and most proactive choice. Our office is happy to answer your HPV questions and to help get these youngsters vaccinated; please call us.