Eveniment

Vaccinul se va extinde si la baieti:

Gardasil vaccine now offered for boys, young men
by Andrew Rosten | The Daily Vidette (Illinois State University)
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: News
PrintEmail Article Tools Page 1 of 1 Approximately 3,700 women die from cervical cancer every year, making it the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women around the world.

To prevent the risk of cervical cancer, which is caused by the Human Papillomavirus, millions of girls and young women in the United States get vaccinated with Gardasil before becoming sexually active. Gardasil is recommended for girls before sexual intercourse.

By 2009, Gardasil could be approved for use by boys and young men as well.

"A lot of folks would say, 'Let's not force everybody to take [vaccinations] because not everybody is sexually active, and we don't want to send the message that everybody is,'" ISU health educator James Almeda said. "I think what I would explain to folks is, 'Maybe your son or daughter isn't [sexually active], but there could be some point in time where they choose to be, and we're not going to always be able to protect them.'"

"Because we know that HPV is so prevalent, we know there is a good chance that they could be exposed to it at some point in their life, and so why not use [vaccinations] as a safety precaution," Almeda said.

"It's kind of like using seatbelts. You hope that your child is going to drive safely, but they can't control everything. They can't control the people who drive around them, so we teach them to wear a seatbelt just in case," Almeda said. "We're not encouraging them to go out and drive unsafely, but in case you do get in an accident, it's going to help reduce your chance for harm. I think the vaccine is the same way."

Gardasil can also protect against genital warts and other diseases in men caused by HPV However, the primary purpose of vaccinating boys with Gardasil will be to prevent them from sexually transmitting HPV into women, thereby causing cervical cancer.

"Even though people promote things like using condoms, with things like HPV, the effectiveness isn't going to be as high because [the HPV virus] can be transmitted from just skin to skin contact, so the condom doesn't cover the whole genital area," Almeda said.

Gardasil does produce side effects in some.

"I don't know about men because I haven't seen any studies on that, but I have read the side effects for the vaccine being given to girls and women, and the most common side effect is a localized reaction, a big tenderness on the vaccine site," ISU assistant director of nursing Diane Waters said. "A few people will have mild fever and itchiness at the injection site."

"I think that, if the HPV virus could be prevented, it's a good idea to vaccinate boys and girls, especially if it's going to prevent cancer and genital warts down the road," Waters said.

The girls and young women in televised Gardasil commercials proclaim to want to be "One Less," metaphorically saying they want to be one less victim of cervical cancer. By 2009, boys could be helping these girls become "One Less" by taking Gardasil as well.