Straight Talk For Teens By Teens

Teen girls weigh in on HPV vaccine

Dear Straight Talk: I’m 17 and I’m doing a report on the HPV vaccine. This is the new vaccine for human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause both genital warts and cervical cancer. Since HPV is only contagious through sex, the vaccine is controversial. What do you and the girls on your panel think? Do you want this vaccine to be mandatory for seventh grade girls, or simply available for the families that want it and can afford the $360 price tag?—“Kelly,” Folsom High

Dear “Kelly”: I’m glad you asked. HPV is so common that just about everyone who has ever had sex—or come close—has had it at one point or another. There are 40 strains of HPV that are passed through all forms of sexual activity, including non-invasive activities such as body rubbing and mutual masturbation. Condoms don’t always help because HPV can be anywhere in the genital area.

HPV usually has no symptoms and most strains are harmless, including those that cause genital warts. However, 9700 American girls and women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year due to the nastier strains. The vaccine protects against two HPV strains that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer and two that cause 90 percent of genital warts. The vaccine is most effective if administered before a girl is sexually active.

In my opinion, society should welcome a tested vaccine that helps prevent the spread of cancer. Cancer is different than mumps or chicken pox. Because HPV is pervasive at all levels of society, the only way to manage it is through a mandatory campaign. With an opt-out clause for those who don’t want it, it seems senseless to derail this medical breakthrough for political reasons.

Like you, two on the teen staff are using an alias:

From Farren, 19: I’m sorry, but how is the vaccine controversial? Seventy-five percent of 18 to 25-year olds have been exposed to the virus. Should we, as a society, disregard their safety entirely, punishing them with an STD that can cause cervical cancer?

If the vaccine is limited to only those who can afford it, we are further renegotiating all women’s safety and condoning a sexually uneducated society. Those who can’t afford the vaccine are the same people who can’t afford annual pap exams—which increases their odds of developing cervical cancer. There is absolutely no moral argument that would keep such a vaccine from the masses.

From “Krystal,” 18: I’ve had HPV in the form of genital warts, which I had frozen off, so I think the vaccine is a good idea. My only concern is that by making it mandatory, we won’t learn of long-term side effects until many people are inoculated.

From “McKenna,” 20: I abhor the controversy over the HPV vaccine. People think it will make girls more sexually promiscuous? Give me a break. How you raise your child determines that. Girls are going to have sex when they feel ready—with or without the shots. I was 18 and in love before I felt ready. Is that being promiscuous? My boyfriend’s STD test was negative for HPV, so we didn’t know he had it. When I contracted HPV from him, the cervical cancer strain, I was devastated and felt like a tramp.

We finally have a vaccine that can help prevent cancer and people are worried about promiscuity? So, when we have a vaccine for HIV, does this mean millions will continue getting AIDS because a few political groups pretend that people don’t have sex? These narrow-minded views are writing the death certificates of people who unknowingly contract HPV and don’t have health coverage. I’m lucky I can see a gynecologist every year to make sure my system is not getting covered with cancer. What about all the people who don’t have this coverage, aren’t promiscuous, but are still contracting HPV because 80 percent of all sexually active people have it?