HPV Awareness – Here's Why Vaccinating Kids is So Important

HPV Awareness Day is March 4 and South Shore Medical Center’s pediatric providers want to remind parents about the importance of getting their children vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus – beginning at age 9.

“The HPV vaccine is safe and effective and offers the most protection when given to pre-teenage children,” said Manju Chopra, MD, Chief of Pediatrics at South Shore Medical Center.

HPV is a very common viral infection, transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact that affects both males and females. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 42 million people in the U.S. currently have an HPV infection, and about 13 million people (teens and adults) become infected with HPV each year.

For most people, HPV infections clear up on their own within a couple of years. But for others, the virus does not clear and the chronic infection can cause certain types of cancer over time. 

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), about 35,000 men and women are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV each year. 

HPV causes nearly all (98%) cervical cancers. It is also the leading cause for more than 90 percent of anal cancers, 70% of vaginal and vulvar cancers and 60% of penile and throat cancers.  

“The HPV vaccine can prevent more than 90% of cancers caused by the HPV virus when given at the recommended ages,” said Chopra.

Which is why vaccination for preadolescent boys and girls prior to their first HPV exposure is so important, she said.  

“Once you’re infected, the vaccine doesn’t protect you from the HPV strains most likely to cause cancer and genital warts.”

The ACS, CDC and the American Academy of Pediatricians recommends: 

• Girls and boys ages 9 to 12 years receive two doses of the HPV vaccine. 
• If HPV vaccination begins after age 15, three doses are recommended.
• People who have a weakened immune system should also get three shots. 
• It’s important to get all the recommended shots and complete the vaccine series
• Teens and young adults up to age 26 who have not received the HPV vaccine should get vaccinated as soon as possible.
• Vaccination in young adults will not prevent as many cancers as vaccination in children and teens
• HPV vaccination is not recommended for people older than 26.

If you have questions or concerns about HPV vaccines, speak to your child’s healthcare provider. More information about HPV vaccination is available through the ACS and CDC websites.