My family talked my wife out of having my teenage daughters vaccinated for this, and I went along with it. Now I’m mad that we waited so long. They’re 17 and 14. I’m going to do some research and pull the trigger if I don’t find anything that looks like real research against it.
Does anyone know how much less effective it is for kids at 14 and 17 instead of 12 or 13 or whenever they recommend it? I’ll read the article, but just wondering if anyone knows.
techmom99
while we all wish everyone in the world was a really nice loving person. when it comes to your doctor 100% of the time skill and intelligence trumps friendly and lovely.
if you can find a really nice really smart/skilled doctor amen. but if you have to choose… Bedside manner comes in 2nd place.
I suspect that the age thing is about the likelyhood of being exposed to HPV along with the effectiveness due to differences in the body as we age (not an MD, just a semi educated guess). The HPV vaccine from what I gather also takes time to build immunity, so the longer the time period between the innoculation and exposure to the virues I would assume the better the immune response (as far as I know, unlike the tetanus vaccine, it doesn’t expire over time). A person 12-14 is a lot less likely to be exposed then someone older (especially as kids become sexually active).
These 2 links might have the information you’re looking for… and, other helpful links.
The first link is the American Cancer Society’s HPV info page & recommendations.
The second one is the CDC’s Q&A page about HPV & the vaccine
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/infectiousagents/hpv/hpv-faq
Well, one of my loved ones is getting her HPV series of vaccinations at ages 26/27. She started earlier and never completed. The good news is that the new HPV vaccine covers more strains than the original one, so she’s getting the newer one. We are just glad she’s getting the vaccines–the series of three (tho there is a 2-shot series now available as well).
Or has an undetected hepatitis B infection, possibly acquired from her (the mother’s) mother when she was born.
Hepatitis B infection as a newborn is much more likely to become a chronic lifelong infection than at later ages.
@musicprnt, thanks for the info. That makes sense. Hopefully, the amount of time we waited won’t make a difference.
@ManhattanBoro, thanks for the links. I’m going to check them out and try to make a quick decision. I talked to my wife about it today. Thanks.
New CDC report on prevalence of HPV – https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db280.pdf
Summarized here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/health/hpv-virus-survey-united-states.html?_r=0
^Thanks for posting that info!
Just think of how close to zero we could be in a generation or 2 if we had a critical mass of people vaccinated.