Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination

What is Human Papillomavirus (HPV)?
According to the CDC, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), with approximately 79 million Americans, most in their late teens and early 20s, suffering from the infection.

Why a vaccine?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection continues to be one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, even though effective vaccines have been available for more than a decade (White, 2014). In the United States alone, almost 80 million people are infected, with 32,500 cancer cases both in females and males being caused by HPV every year (CDC, 2018). According to the CDC (2018), about 30,000 of those cases could be prevented with HPV vaccination.

Recommendation
Everyone who is 11-12 years old should receive two HPV vaccine shots 6 to 12 months apart. More than 100 countries have approved vaccine programs but there is still some controversy surrounding these universal vaccination programs such as financial, ethical, and practical concerns (White, 2014). An additional strategy that could improve vaccination rates is reducing HPV vaccinations to a single dose (Stanley & Dull, 2018).



References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Human papillomavirus

            (HPV). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/vaccine.html

Stanley, M., & Dull, P. (2018). HPV single-dose vaccination: Impact potential, evidence base

             and further evaluation. Vaccine. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.02.076

             White, M. D. (2014). Pros, cons, and ethics of HPV vaccine in teens—Why such 

             controversy? Pros, Cons, and Ethics of HPV Vaccine in Teens—Why Such 

             Controversy?,3(4), 429-434. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2223-4683.2014.11.02