A panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously last month to recommend routine vaccination of boys against human papillomavirus, the most prevalent sexually transmitted virus in the United States and the cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved Merck's Gardasil vaccine for females aged 9 to 26, and in 2009 the vaccine was approved for males in the same age range. Although cervical cancer is not a risk for males, the vaccine was approved for the prevention of HPV in males because of the risks of consequent diseases such as genital warts, anal and throat cancers, and precancerous lesions.
Immune males also contribute to "herd immunity" against cervical cancer, meaning that if they are immunized, incidence of HPV-induced cervical cancer in females from sexual contact with males will be reduced. The CDC cited these benefits as sufficient to outweigh the risk of immunization for females, and now males.
State legislation in Virginia reflects an awareness of these benefits. In 2007, the General Assembly voted in favor of compulsory vaccination of all females before entering the sixth grade, with an exemption given to any students whose parents object. Some parents said the mandatory vaccination encourages unprotected sex among students, and that the vaccination did not prevent any disease which is transmitted in the classroom environment. Others supported the measure, arguing that the vaccine would be less accessible to low-income families if it were not supported by the state. Virginia's House of Delegates voted to repeal the law at the start of this year, but the initiative did not pass in the Senate, and the vaccination requirement stands.
Virginia is currently the only state which requires the vaccine, though it is also mandatory for females in Washington, D.C. schools. No federal laws currently require vaccination of males. Though it is recommended, vaccination against HPV is not currently required for college students in Virginia.
Josh McNamara is a fourth-year student. He can be reached at jtm4r@virginia.edu.
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