Should you be one less?
HPV vaccination most successful when given before first sexual contact
Breann Schossow
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Money/Health
"It's good if it will prevent even a few (cases of cervical cancer)," she said.
However, there are some cases when the vaccine should not be administered at all.
"It cannot be given to pregnant women," Stevenson said, adding that it contains yeast and should not be given to those with a yeast allergy as well as those with other serious illnesses.
The recommended age to receive the vaccine is 11 or 12 years old, Stevenson said. That way, they are well protected way beforehand. The vaccine is most successful when administered before first sexual contact.
There are ways to prevent HPV besides the vaccine. Although condoms are important, they "don't prevent HPV," Stevenson said. So a way to avoid being infected with HPV is to limit the number of sexual partners, or to simply practice abstinence, she said.
Freshman Katie Jamison agrees with the abstinence approach. She hasn't received the vaccine because she does not think it's something to worry about.
"The lifestyle I've chosen…doesn't require me to have it," she said. Also, because the vaccine is so new, Jamison said she has another reason for not receiving it.
"I don't put something in my body that in my opinion isn't researched enough," she said, adding she wants time to see the side effects, but feels that she won't ever need it. However, for people who have chosen a different lifestyle than hers, the vaccine will be beneficial for them, she said.
Also, Jamison said she feels that the vaccine should not be mandatory.
Even if a person has already had sexual contact, it is important to receive the vaccine, even if they have already contracted a type of HPV, Stevenson said.
"There is no way to know which one you've been infected with," she said.
The vaccine is currently thought to have lifelong protection, even though it has only been available to the general public for a year. Continued testing is necessary in order to find out, Stevenson said.
Even after receiving the vaccine, Stevenson said, it is important for women to visit a gynecologist regularly and receive a pap smear, a test for cervical cancer, on a yearly basis, she said.
Although Jamison never intends to receive the vaccine, she said she believes it will do something important.
"I do think it will save people."
However, there are some cases when the vaccine should not be administered at all.
"It cannot be given to pregnant women," Stevenson said, adding that it contains yeast and should not be given to those with a yeast allergy as well as those with other serious illnesses.
The recommended age to receive the vaccine is 11 or 12 years old, Stevenson said. That way, they are well protected way beforehand. The vaccine is most successful when administered before first sexual contact.
There are ways to prevent HPV besides the vaccine. Although condoms are important, they "don't prevent HPV," Stevenson said. So a way to avoid being infected with HPV is to limit the number of sexual partners, or to simply practice abstinence, she said.
Freshman Katie Jamison agrees with the abstinence approach. She hasn't received the vaccine because she does not think it's something to worry about.
"The lifestyle I've chosen…doesn't require me to have it," she said. Also, because the vaccine is so new, Jamison said she has another reason for not receiving it.
"I don't put something in my body that in my opinion isn't researched enough," she said, adding she wants time to see the side effects, but feels that she won't ever need it. However, for people who have chosen a different lifestyle than hers, the vaccine will be beneficial for them, she said.
Also, Jamison said she feels that the vaccine should not be mandatory.
Even if a person has already had sexual contact, it is important to receive the vaccine, even if they have already contracted a type of HPV, Stevenson said.
"There is no way to know which one you've been infected with," she said.
The vaccine is currently thought to have lifelong protection, even though it has only been available to the general public for a year. Continued testing is necessary in order to find out, Stevenson said.
Even after receiving the vaccine, Stevenson said, it is important for women to visit a gynecologist regularly and receive a pap smear, a test for cervical cancer, on a yearly basis, she said.
Although Jamison never intends to receive the vaccine, she said she believes it will do something important.
"I do think it will save people."
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