Health, Body and Fitness: HPV vaccine for men raises concerns

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The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States is likely to extend the use of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to men. According to The New York Times, the panel recommended that boys around age 12 should be vaccinated, and young men ages 13 to 21 who had not received this shot should also be vaccinated. This HPV vaccination may be given to boys as young as nine, usually up until the late 20s. HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease — 75 to 80 per cent of males and females are infected at some point during their lives.

Parents of young boys are now facing challenging realities when it comes to choosing whether or not to have their child vaccinated. While most females who get the disease contract it from having vaginal sex, males tend to get it from oral or anal sex.

The article noted that vaccinating homosexual boys would be more cost-effective than all boys, but this statement in itself raises a number of questions. First, the majority of males between the ages of nine and 21 likely are still exploring their sexuality — not many nine-year-olds know if they are heterosexual or homosexual. Second, despite many parents thinking this age is too young to receive the vaccination, research has shown that one in five boys and girls have had vaginal sex by the age of 15.

A final challenge raised by the introduction of the male HPV vaccination is what effect this has on young men and their body image. The attractiveness that these young boys feel about themselves is challenged when a vaccine related to sex is brought into their lives before the age of 10.

The question then remains: is introducing a vaccine related to sexual activity the right thing to do with children as young as nine? As long as parents are willing to answer their children's questions and explain what the vaccine is for, then it shouldn't be a problem. However, if parents are uncomfortable discussing the vaccine and sexual activity with their children, children will likely be uncomfortable receiving the vaccine to begin with.