Many parents still have a lot of questions about giving their daughters the Gardasil vaccine. I understand why.
First, We really don’t want to accept that our 10-year-old babies will be faced with the sexual onslaught, now known as Middle School. It is the land of Lollipop parties where girls give oral sex to multiple boys for stature and attention.
Not only are Middle Schoolers engaging in high risk oral sex behaviors, they are not afraid to invite or broadcast it on the internet via their cell phones. I had a patient tell me, “Well you can thank Bill Clinton for that!” At the time, I thought it was absurd but he did introduce the mainstream to the belief that oral sex is not a big deal or even recognized as sex with the infamous,” I did not have sexual relations with that woman!” Teenagers will report that kissing is more intimate than oral sex. My how things have changed!
Secondly, if you google Gardasil, the only information on the first page are horror stories of ailments attributed to the vaccine. It is really hard to find objective data about the safety of the vaccine until you look to the groups that we have given our tax dollars to do the research for us and to keep us safe. The CDC and the FDA have continued to the support the safety of this vaccine. CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THEY FOLLOW SAFETY
Finally, putting the 2 together, is it really necessary?
Let’s review the basics:
Gardasil is a vaccine introduced in May of 2006 to help prevent cervical cancer and genital warts. It helps the body produce an antibody to 4 types of Human Papilloma Virus or HPV. Click here to see my previous blog.
As of December 31, 2008, more than 23 million doses of Gardasil were distributed in the United States.
What is HPV?
HPV is virus that is really easy to catch and is passed through sexual contact. It doesn’t have to be intercourse; just skin-to-skin contact and condoms are not very effective. 80% of women will contract HPV in their life making in the number one sexually transmitted disease (STD).
What happens with an HPV infection?
The good news is that most women will clear the HPV on their own. The bad news is that many women will still get conditions caused from HPV. This includes genital warts, cervical cancer and cancer of genital skin including the penis, vulva and anus. This is the type of cancer that Farrah Fawcett was recently diagnosed with. We are seeing an increase in these types of cancer. They tend to affect people in their 50s and 60s, so we often forget to screen for them.
Pap Smears do a good job of screening for cervical cancer (if women can and do get their annual pap smear. We still see 4000 deaths a year from cervical cancer in the US alone)
How should these other cancers be screened?
If you have any lesions, sores, itching or bleeding on any part of the genitals ask your doctor to take a smear or sometime a biopsy of the area. Smoking and a history of abnormal paps or HPV, immunosuppression and history of anal sex put you in a higher risk category. Learn more about anal cancer
So this information is more reason to give the Gardasil vaccine.
What is the latest safety data?
As of December 31, 2008, there were 11,916 VAERS reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination in the United States. Of these reports, 94% were reports of events considered to be non-serious, and 6% were reports of events considered to be serious.
They have dispelled some of the fears like an association with Guillain Barre Disease, however we still only have short-term data. There are some girls that acquired a form of Lou Gehrig disease or ALS but this number is equal to the general population at that age so there does not appear to be an association. Click here of more information.
Why do they recommend it for girls so young?
The vaccine is most effective when given before exposure to HPV.
There is an increasing number of middle school children engaging in sexual contact especially oral sex. A recent Seventeen Oprah survey reported 30% of 15- to 18-year-olds are having oral sex which is double the number that mothers knew about, or even suspected. 46 % of girls that age who’ve had intercourse didn’t tell their moms. 78% of surveyed girls who are no longer virgins say they’ve had sex without using a condom, 56% without any form of birth control at all and 65 percent of them admit they lied about or hid it from their mothers. Click for survey results.
So we have increasing number of children engaging in high-risk behaviors at earlier ages with more partners. This spells the kind of risk in disease that we really have never seen.
We have a vaccine that will decrease the number of cases of cancer, not only of the cervix but of the vulva and likely penis and anus too. The CDC and the FDA tells us it’s safe.
Do I wish we had more long term data? Absolutely. I also wish that people, especially teenagers, were not engaging in these high risk sexual behaviors… but they are.
I wish parents were talking to their children about sex… but they are not.
I wish our children had higher self esteem and respect for their bodies..but they don’t.
Parents must have an open dialogue with their children. Keep having the conversation with your kids over and over. Let them know that can always come to you. Teens face a lot of pressure. It is confusing and messy but the only way to fail is not to try at all. Consider the vaccine before any of these risky behaviors happen.
Dr. Deb