DEAR DRS. DONOHUE AND ROACH: I have twin daughters who are 11
years old. That’s the age for the vaccine for cervical cancer.
It sounds young to me. Can’t they wait until they’re older? I
worry that something serious might happen after the vaccine is
given. It hasn’t been around that long. — R.R. ANSWER: Most
vaccines are given in infancy, so 11 years old isn’t such a
young age. The HPV (human papillomavirus vaccine, the cervical
cancer vaccine) has been on the market for more than six years
and had been studied carefully for many years before it was
released to the general population. In that time, more than 40
million youngsters have received it. Complications are
exceedingly rare. The reason why the vaccine is targeted for 11-
and 12-year-olds is that its effectiveness is reduced if a girl
has already been infected with the human papillomavirus, the
cause of cervical cancer. HPV vaccine is also recommended for
boys of the same age. Both vaccines still can be given up to age
26, but early immunization has th