The Parents Of Your Son’s Future Girlfriend Thank You For That HPV Vaccine

HPV vaccine for boysAlthough there has been much controversy around vaccinating tween girls against HPV with three installments of Gardisil, there is now solid talk about the HPV vaccine for boys. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), officially the nation’s largest group of pediatricians, now says that boys should absolutely be getting vaccinated too.  Because even if you’re not all that worried about genital warts or anal cancer in your son, you could very well be protecting his future lady friend.

The AAP told Reuters that they’re currently looking to push the vaccine as a cancer preventative to parents given that some strands of HPV can result in genital warts and anal cancer. So far, doctors have found no major side effects to the vaccine aside from “soreness at the injection site.” Parents can get the recommended three vaccinations for a reported $360 and they are most effective if administered between the ages of age nine and 15.

But even if parents think their son’s risks for contracting HPV are slim (which is ridiculous anyway given that half of sexually active people contract the disease), AAP recommends getting your little lover boy vaccinated for the sake of all his girlfriends. Reuters reports:

Clinical studies show HPV vaccines shield boys against genital warts and anal cancer, although the protection isn’t complete. Vaccinating boys is also likely to protect women indirectly by preventing them from catching the viruses in the first place, the AAP says…It’s estimated that HPV types 16 and 18 are responsible for 7,000 cases of cancer in men every year in the U.S. and 15,000 cases in women, most of them cervical cancers.

Perhaps future father-suitor sit-downs that traditionally preclude dates won’t so much include awkward questions about DUIs and driving capabilities, but inquiries as to whether your little boy has been vaccinated against HPV. Because what father wants his little girl out with a boy who could potentially cause her to develop cervical cancer?

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(photo: Shutterstock)

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