@Rousse54 thanks for that perspective. I got the HPV vaccine when I was young but not super young. (According to google, I was 15 when Gardasil was approved). I do remember it getting it right around the time that I became sexually active (zero causation) and I don’t remember it all being marketed towards males. I do know my then-boyfriend got it because he had to catch up on all of his shots when he turned 18 and finally caught up on all of his vaccines. That must’ve been on the list (this was late 07/early 08).
As I mentioned either here or in another thread, both Mr. R’s parents and he were really surprised he had never gotten it. They are as staunch about vaccines as I am so the only thing his mother can figure is that it wasn’t recommended at the time and somehow just slipped through the cracks as we were that first generation where kinks are still getting worked out.
There must not have been a big push for males to get it until later on. I do remember that sometime around mid college for me (undergrad was 09-13), there was a big push to get men vaccinated. I don’t know if that was just my campus though or a broader movement.
Thank You ALL for commenting. I hope this thread is seen by all with children who haven’t been vaccinated, particularly by those with children (now adults), who are in their early twenties & pushing up against 26.
My son’s pediatrician did NOT mention the HPV vaccine when it became available for girls. As a stickler for vaccinations, I remember seeing informational flyers specifically targeted for girls, but not for boys around 2007-08. When my son turned 18, he was up-to-date with all his vaccines except HPV, as he “graduated” from his pediatrician’s practice because his pediatrician did not bring it up.
My guess is that boys who were in college from around 2007 to 2012 or so, and their parents, were not aware they could be vaccinated. And, because the vaccine is best administered to someone around 12 years old, non-pediatricians were less likely to raise the issue. I hope this has changed, that is, I hope internists with late adolescents as patients recommend they be vaccinated.
As far as I know, the best PSA for boys & the HPV vaccine has been Michael Douglas.
Thank you. That is a very good point. When S17 has his next physical, I will ask that his blood work include a varicella titer. My mom couldn’t remember if I had the measles and my blood test was inconclusive, so I had my kids’ pediatrician give me the vaccine. Ditto for my H with the mumps.
When I first started talking about the vaccine with my friends who have sons, most of them were unaware about it. At least 6 of my friends opted to have their sons vaccinated.
I can’t deal with anti-vaxxers. I am so glad that I don’t know any. I find it especially annoying that parents who were themselves vaccinated as children think it’s okay not to immunize their own children.
My son is 20 and my daughter is 18. She got the vaccine before he did. I think D got it at around 12. She got it when the doctor recommended it at a checkup. It was 2-3 years later that our doc said that it was being recommended for boys as well so S for it.
My two oldest did not get the vaccine as it was still not commonly given to males and I have no idea if they got them on their own after they left for college, they may very well have. My youngest did get the series. Hep B also was not given at birth when the first two were born. I postponed the birth Hep B for my last son with full blessings from my doc and then had all 3 get the series when the youngest was 8 and the oldest was 15. I believe in vaccines but I also think it should be OK to schedule Hep B and HPV when it makes sense.
When my kids were babies, I liked to space out the vaccines alittle bit over several trips and was always nervous about vaccinating babies less or only a couple days old especially when Hep B came along and then as they did their pediatric visits I would pick them up, but I do absolutely believe in getting them done. My doc at the time had kids the very same ages as mine for all 3 including one born on the same day and he did pretty much what I did as far as scheduling and we used to talk about it. All three have had all the recommended vaccines and boosters, the only exception being if my two “adults” ever got the HPV. Next time I get a chance, I’ll ask, because now I’m curious.
I was a late adopter for the HPV for my kids, not because I thought it promoted promiscuity, but I wanted to wait as long as possible to see if there were any side effects from the shots. I wanted to be on the market a few years. It would not be the first time a drug company marketed something that later caused birth defects, etc.
I have two very good friends, one is a pediatrician, and one is a gynecologist/oncologist and both have daughters. I asked them if they were getting their kids vaccinated, and they said absolutely. My gyno friend, said that he has lost a number of patients to cervical cancer, and he couldnt imagine, anyone not getting the vaccine.
My S wasn’t (he is 21), the doctors never even brought it up as far as I know, it is one reason I wonder if doctors are pushing this or not.
@motherofdragons:
You can’t discuss with the anti vaccination types, they don’t operate on facts, they are in the same class of people who believe the earth is 6000 years old, you can’t have a rational discussion when their viewpoint is based totally on the irrational, it is beyond logic and reasoning. Put it this way, groups who are very skeptical of the pharm industry, countries where they tend to be a lot more cautious then the US with what they allowed used (Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries) , all have done serious studies and every study done in the US or Europe has shown no tie between vaccinations and the myriad ills they claim, and the arguments (“Autism has skyrocketed as the number of vaccinations has increased, so therefore vaccinations=autism”) are things that have no scientific or statistical basis.
I have heard the same thing about discussing evolution, the origin of the earth/creationism, and any number of other things that revolve around facts versus belief, and quite honestly it doesn’t matter, the ‘honey will get you more flies than vinegar’ approach doesn’t work because they aren’t going to listen shrug. Worse, that type of person (with vaccinations) convince others who should know better, and to me it is like leaving a spoiled apple in the middle of good fruit in the hope the spoiled apple will revert. If someone believes vaccinations are evil or whatever, what I think of them or call them won’t matter one bit, they will have to come to their own enlightenment.
Musicptnt - I’ll add another to your list. My anti-vaxxer, young earth brother and his friends/family are big on the conspiracy theories. He believes that 9/11, Sandy Hook and the Orlando Nightclub massacre are all hoaxes and part of a govt conspiracy. These folks do not listen to reason.
@ohiopublic:
No, they don’t. I have had some people say they had read about the whole vaccination scare and were worried there might be something to it, but that kind of person will listen to reason, when you give them links to real studies and so forth, and when you point out the people advocating the anti vaccine position are for the most part unqualified. When someone believes that kind of stuff, and shows you all kinds of ‘proof’ that defies any kind of rational thought process, all you can do is stay away from them. And no, I don’t have problem making fun of their ‘beliefs’, especially when many of them are dangerous, I treat them like holocaust deniers, they are doing so both out of ignorance, and they usually have an agenda. I feel sorry for some of the anti vaccine people, some of them have kids with issues like Autism and other things and I suspect they are trying to find some guilty party, either because they themselves feel like it must be something they did, or simply not willing to believe it was just some factors that made it happen.
In my case, my children (both boy and girl) got the vax because H administers it in the context of being an ob-gyn and was one of the first to get the vax. He tells all of his patients who have children of the relevant ages to get it, whether it’s administered through him or through a pediatrician. There are always a few who don’t - just like the patients who refuse the flu shot, have the flu, call him when they are miserable begging for help, and then refuse the flu shot the next year when it comes around.
Thrisrella
People who wait until 18 for their kids to get the vaccine but they start having sex at 15…16
.some even younger…what good will the vaccine do after they are infected with the virus if they decide to get it.
Spoiler alert people who think their kids are “good” kids and waiting maybe mistaken.
I read that the CDC is NOT recommending the FluMist vaccine this year,everyone should get the shot instead… it supposedly doesn’t work as well as the Flu Shot. It doesn’t effect my kids since they have to get the shot instead because of Asthma but I found it interesting that it doesn’t work as well.
I know more or less when they finally approved the vaccine for boys because my dh who was studying head and neck cancer at the time insisted our son get it even thoughit wouldn’t be covered by insurance. All the clinicians he worked with were gungho. He graduated from high school in 2010 and got the shot that summer with the last one on either Thanksgiving or Winter break. I believe they started covering them for boys in 2011.
I’m really disappointed that our pediatrician dropped the ball on this one for my ds. It wasn’t until 2011 that they recommended, and administered, Gardisil for my dd the summer before going to college.
“They’re not stupid people; they’re just making decisions based on emotions and bad data.”
I’m not sure anything can change their minds. I haven’t seen any research showing a way to bring them around. We pretty much just have to change the law.
I think that’s one good way to do it. I read an article recently that said California changed its immunization policies, and didn’t allow about 150 kids into school the first day because they couldn’t provide proof of immunization.
The state of California is coming at it from the view of public health, not calling the parents space cadets. That’s really what I took issue with. Can you imagine if the letter home started with “Dear Space Cadet:”?"
Probably my favorite line from the article (and one I’ll use with anti-vaxxers): “The courts have made it very clear that no one has the right to spread disease within their community.”
