Twenty million Americans have human papillomavirus (HPV), and about six million new cases are now being diagnosed each year. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, and it is far from benign — it can lead to genital warts, cervical cancer, and penile cancer. In addition, a recent increase in anal cancer has also been linked to the spread of HPV.
The good news is that Gardasil (otherwise known as the HPV vaccine) protects against several strains of HPV, including 90 percent of those that cause genital warts and 70 percent of those that cause cervical cancer.
Even though the vaccine has been successful from a health standpoint, many people have moral objections to it. Some parents fear that vaccinating young girls against a sexually transmitted infection will encourage them to be sexually active or that the vaccination will be viewed as their parents giving them “permission” to have sex.
Fortunately, a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has found otherwise. The study followed girls and young women (from the ages of 13 to 21) after they received the vaccine, and not only did it discover that there was no higher rate of promiscuity among the vaccinated individuals, but it also found that these young women rated safer sex as a high priority.
This study shows us that education doesn’t equal promiscuity. Just the opposite! When we empower and educate our children to make healthy choices regarding their bodies and their sexuality, we enable them to make positive decisions even when we are not there to guide them.
Whether you choose to vaccinate your child or not, we can all use Gardasil as a teachable moment with our kids. Talking about sex isn’t a one-time thing. Instead, it needs to be a recurring conversation that we have with our kids over the years — and that includes giving information as well as answering questions and listening with an open mind. Vaccinations aside, sometimes communication can be the best protection of all.
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