They Say: HPV Vaccines for Boys Are Not ‘Cost Effective’
A study out of the Harvard School of Public Health has found that giving boys Gardasil–the vaccine against HPV, which causes the majority of cervical cancer cases–is not “cost effective.”
The vaccine is recommended for females between the ages of 11 and 26, and although clinical trials have found that vaccinating boys and men offers “a high degree of protection,” researchers ultimately concluded that the financial costs outweighed the benefits of preventing cervical cancer and genital warts.
According to Reuters:
To decide this, they calculated quality-adjusted life years, a figure that takes into account the impact of disease on quality of life.
They found using the vaccine in girls was well within the threshold for good value. But when they added boys into the equation, the benefits did not outweigh the costs.
This may make sense from purely logistical standpoint, but it still makes me highly uncomfortable, particularly given all the backlash against the vaccine, which conservatives have said will encourage girls to have sex. (Check out the above image, which I found on a blog called SAHM-in-Training.) Putting the burden of vaccination against this widespread, cancer-causing STI solely on female shoulders reinforces the double standard in which “boys will be boys,” while girls are expected to carry the full burden of sexual responsibility–putting off sexual activity, being safe, etc.
Furthermore, this study rides on the assumption that 75 percent of girls will get the vaccine. Apparently, those girls whose parents are opposed to the vaccine on religious grounds will just have to take their chances on getting cervical cancer–even if the first person they have sex with is their husband.
Image: SAHM-in-Training
Related Posts:
Related Posts:- They Say: Cervical Cancer Could Be Eradicated
- They Say: HPV Vaccine Makes Girls More Aware of Risks
- Kids’ Vaccines - New Schedule Announced
- Breastfeeding Bad for the Testicles?
- Obesity Versus Puberty
Tags: boys, cervical cancer, gardasil, genital warts, girls, hpv, vaccine
2 Comments
[...] it’s apparently not “cost effective” for boys to get the vaccine, it’s more important than ever for girls — whether they’ll get the vaccine or not [...]
They Say: HPV Vaccine Makes Girls More Aware of Risks | Strollerderby commented on Oct 28 09 at 2:39 pmLula commented on Oct 10 09 at 10:18 pmGay men’s health activists beg to differ. HPV vaccination of adolescent boys will help prevent the HPV-related anal and colorectal cancers that are now common in men who have sex with men, particularly HIV+ men. Since anal intercourse is also quite a popular activity for heterosexuals, we’ll also see these cancers in female receptive partners (particularly as they age). It’s stupid not to vaccinate boys and young men in order to prevent cervical cancer, but once you figure anal/colorectal cancers in there too… well, WTF?
