In this week’s sexual health round up: new research finds that only 38 percent of girls who start the HPV vaccine get all three shots; a new study finds that while the specific gene therapy tried did not impact HIV, the concept still shows promise; and a six-year-old is suspended from a Colorado elementary school for sexual harassment.
It is no secret that women of color—specifically Black and Latina women—are at greatest risk of cervical cancer. Ending cervical cancer will be no easy task. Great strides can be made by taking a multi-level approach to the problem, which includes expanding knowledge, empowering Black women to make their health a priority, and continued advocacy efforts.
Last year research linking vaccines to autism was debunked as a complete fabrication. Now a new study shows that the HPV vaccine does not cause promiscuity. There are no excuses left. Parents have an obligation to society to vaccinate their children. Not doing so is selfish.
The war cry of the GOP (Grand Old Puritans) is that the HPV vaccine is a license for public fornication. This is how they rally their financial base. I get that, but the press doesn’t have to take the bait. It only becomes a story if the press makes it so.
Diseases such as diabetes and cancer cause tens of millions of deaths each year, many of which are premature. Once the burden of rich countries, these non-communicable diseases are increasingly affecting individuals in low- and middle-income countries where they impose heavy burdens on already fragile health systems. Among the most deadly—and preventable—of these diseases is cervical cancer.
Today, a CDC advisory committee recommended that the HPV vaccine become a routine part of health care for 11-year-old boys as well as girls. Public and political reaction to this could serve as an interesting gauge of our double standard when it comes to adolescents and sex.
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On Sunday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law which allows minors to access STD-prevention services, including the now highly political HPV vaccine, without parental consent.
Michele Bachmann’s been all over the place making comically outrageous claims about the supposed dangers of the HPV vaccine. Will her behavior shed light on the more serious problem of people having vague, unarticulated fears of the vaccine?
All My Children takes on the world of STDs with a storyline about HPV that is, unfortunately, more dramatic than it is accurate.
A new stdy found that male foreskin is a reservior for HPV. The authors suggest that this shows we should be vaccinating boys as well. Others question its implications for circumcision.
