News Review From Harvard Medical School -- Survey: More Parents
Oppose HPV Vaccine Parents' resistance to the human papilloma
virus (HPV) vaccine for their daughters has increased over time,
surveys suggest. And there's been a big jump in the number who
cite safety concerns with the vaccine. The HPV vaccine protects
against virus types that cause most cases of cervical cancer. It
also prevents some cases of genital warts. The study was based
on two national surveys. Parents' answers on the 2010 survey
showed about 25% of teen girls had received all 3 doses of the
HPV vaccine. That was up from 16% in 2008. But the percentage of
parents who said they did not intend to get the vaccine for
their daughters increased from 40% to 44%. Some said that it
wasn't needed or that their daughters were not sexually active.
About 16% cited safety concerns, up from 4.5% in 2008. That
puzzled researchers, who said the vaccine is very safe and side
effects are mild. The vaccine is recommended at age 11 or 12
because it works be