The human papillomavirus is one of the more common viruses in today’s environment, and the Gardasil vaccine is the only HPV vaccine approved and available for use in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 17,500 females and 9,300 males suffer from various forms of HPV-linked cancers, including cancers of various reproductive systems and oropharyngeal cancer in both men and women. These conditions are preventable with Gardasil vaccination, and various medical organizations have recommended HPV vaccination starting at 10 years old to prevent infection with HPV.
Mode of Application
CDC recommends HPV vaccination for both girls and boys before they enter their teens, ideally around age 11. Older teens who have never been vaccinated or who failed to complete the recommended dose should be vaccinated up to age 27 for girls and age 22 for boys. The window of opportunity for young males with weakened immune systems or who engage in same-sex relations extends to age 27 also. Younger children will be scheduled for two shots spaced out every six or 12 months. Three shots scheduled every six months is the recommended protocol for 14 and older teens and young adults.
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Fear and Misinformation behind HPV Vaccines
The vaccine has been available in the U.S. since 2004, but compliance has been compromised by controversy due in part to moral arguments from parents. HPV is a virus that is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact and sexual intercourse. Studies have shown its prevalence among young people in their late teens and early twenties. Various studies have indicated that sexually active individuals will be affected by HPV at some point although not everyone will present with symptoms. This is because the human immune system, when healthy, is capable of fighting off HPV naturally. However, HPV in some individuals may lead to health-threatening conditions as mentioned above.
This may be the root cause of the resistance against the Gardasil vaccine. Parents of tweens and teens are unprepared to accept that their children may be sexually active at some point or have already reached this stage. It is a difficult discussion for pediatricians and the families of their patients because the nature of HPV infections often devolve into discussions of values and morals.
State governments have tried to increase compliance through legislative initiatives. For instance, Florida is attempting to pass the Women’s Cancer Prevention Act according to the Tampa Bay Times. The bill will require mandatory HPV vaccination for all children entering the state’s public schools once they reach the target age. The bill has been met with resistance by legislators and the public even though Gardasil has been proven to be 99 percent effective in protecting against four of the most common HPV-linked cancers in women.
General Resistance Against Vaccines
Compliance with standard childhood immunizations has been dropping as a result of a now-disproven report that vaccinations lead to autism. This has been debunked in several ways, but many families continue to be suspicious of vaccines in general, compounding the controversy hounding Gardasil vaccinations.
Between 2014 and 2017, the FDA received reports of seven deaths (out of 29 million doses) that may be linked to Gardasil, but only two of those cases could be directly linked to use of the vaccine. A different study by the CDC showed that out of 80 million doses administered between 2006 and 2015, 51 cases of vaccine-related deaths were verified by the agency although no evidence was found that HPV vaccines led to or contributed to fatal conditions. It is unfortunate that the Gardasil vaccine remains controversial because it has proven effective in reducing the rate of cervical cancer and related diseases.
