Should Boys Be Vaccinated For HPV?
The FDA gives the green light, but is it cost effective to give men Gardasil?
Should boys be vaccinated against HPV? This is the new hot button question after the Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil use in men last week. The New York Times recently reported that advisory groups recommended boys between the ages of 9 and 25 soldier into doctor's offices and get injected with the costly, but effective, shot. Sex Does A Body Good
Gardasil, on the market since 2006, was previously just recommended for women as it protects against two strains of HPV that if undetected can lead to 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. While the shot prevents genital warts in guys, some health officials say the shot is unnecessary. While the warts may not have long-term consequences, some argue the STD costs about three doctor visits to cure (not to mention the cost of curing cervical cancer). So certainly a prevention shot might slash future costs. Health officials are pretty stubborn that injecting men would be wasteful, however.
As Times reports:
A clinical trial of about 4,000 young men, sponsored by Merck, reported that the vaccine prevented 89 percent of genital warts.
But experts at the vaccine advisory committee meeting debated whether it was appropriate and cost-effective to vaccinate boys for a problem that can be embarrassing and uncomfortable but is not life-threatening.
Harrell W. Chesson, a health economist at the disease control centers, said that to reduce HPV, it would be more cost-effective to increase vaccination among girls than among boys.
But should all the burden of reducing the STD be on women? Sure HPV is more harmful to ladies, but as Slate.com points out:
Boys don't have to get vaccinated for the same reason they don't have to wash dishes, do laundry, buy birth control, or think about other people in general: Girls will do it for them.
Discussion
As a man, Yes, absolutely! Get healthcare in to help defray some of the cost, but even if it comes down to having to be self serving in the thought process on this, guys, if you get your shot then you have a higher chance of not getting warts and not having to tell the next girl you are looking to sleep with that you have them so she can shut you down no matter how many condoms and dental dams you promise to use!
For us guys that actually do care enought about the women in our lives, or the woman who may be in our lives, these doctors don't take any time to think of the stress and added psycho-drama worry of thinking that you are somehow permanently dirty, and if you give it to your gal she will suffer through the same thing.
Hey, if its good enough for the Gander, then it should be good enough for the Goose. Guys need to step up and take a more active and responsible role.
