When the initial HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine was released in 2006, it was met with a large public outcry in the United States from concerned parents, pediatricians, and politicians. Their claim was that vaccinated pre-teen girls and boys would encourage riskier teen sexual behavior.

 

The thought was that the vaccine would give young adults a false sense of protective security, and thus encourage them to engage in riskier sexual activities (sex without a condom, higher number of partners, etc.). Researchers immediately began to structure studies that would investigate the claim, and several studies began across the nation.

 

The research conclusions were that there was no evidence suggesting a link in riskier teen sexual behaviors among vaccinated teens. Despite the evidence, proposed ideas of mandatory HPV vaccines have stirred up considerable controversy throughout the nation. The leading reason for opposition was that it was either not necessary for the child or that the child was not sexually active yet. Physicians also expressed concern about discussing sexual activity with pre-teen patients.

 

Over 1/3 of all schools still teach abstinence only sexual education programs in the United States. HPV is spread through sexual contact; thus, encouraging the vaccination of pre-teen girls means acknowledging sexual activity in pre-teens at a legislative level. For many parents, politicians, and physicians this creates uncomfortable emotional responses and has led to a push within the United States to defer the recommended age of vaccination until somewhere in the teenage years.

 

Despite the opposition here, the idea of a mandatory HPV vaccine is not groundbreaking - Western European countries, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have all recently included the HPV vaccine in the list of required vaccines for school age children of a certain age. The HPV vaccine is unique in that it is one of the few known drugs to directly reduce the risk of specific cancers.

 

To keep the issue in perspective - cervical cancer was once the leading cause of cancer related death in The United States (during the early twentieth century). With the introduction of regular pap smears, and the understanding of the HPV virus, cervical cancer today affects approximately 12,000 women annually and results in approximately 4,000 deaths annually.

 

Globally, the issue of cervical cancer is much different. It is the second most common cause of cancer related death among women and disproportionately affects women during their child bearing years. Sadly, over 80% of all cervical cancer cases occur in the developing world and over 300,000 women die each year and thousands of others are affected financially, socially, and emotionally.

 

For one of the few times in human history we have a chance to protect our children and young ones from serious illness. As both health care providers and global citizens it is our responsibility to work to minimize the barriers to access for these sorts of vaccinations.