American teenage girls refuse to vaccinate against human papillomavirus
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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American epidemiologists have found that less than half of adolescent girls underwent recommended vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) virus, which causes cervical cancer.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a telephone survey of parents of more than 19,000 girls aged 13 to 17 years. During the course of the study, it was found that only 49% of them received at least one of the recommended three doses of the HPV vaccine. No more than a third of them passed the full course.
The largest vaccine coverage against HPV - about 70% - was in Washington and Rhode Island, the smallest - about 29% - in Idaho.
At the same time, the coverage of adolescents with other recommended vaccinations - against meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis - is significantly higher and reaches two-thirds of representatives of this age group.
According to experts, this situation may be related to the high price of the HPV vaccine and the inconvenience of its introduction (within half a year it is necessary to visit the doctor three times), but the main reason is a misunderstanding of the essence of the vaccine, they believe.
Because HPV is sexually transmitted, it is necessary to get it from you before the onset of sexual activity. As a rule, vaccination is carried out at the age of 11 to 12 years. However, many parents believe that their daughter at this age to vaccinate is too early, because she does not have sexual relations. At the same time, many of them unreasonably fear that vaccination is accompanied by discussion of sexual life, which the child may not be ready for.
With this in mind, experts such as Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health research group, call on the government to launch an aggressive large-scale educational campaign to combat prejudices that prevent cancer prevention.
"If we do not work much better, we will leave the next generation vulnerable to cervical cancer," CDC spokeswoman Melinda Wharton said.
According to statistics, about 12 thousand American women fall ill with cervical cancer each year, a third of them die from this disease.
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