Some people are having a good laugh over a proposal to give the Gardasil vaccine to boys, but they can stop laughing, especially if they have young children they’d like to see live cancer-free.
The Gardasil vaccine is meant to prevent girls from contracting the human papilloma virus, which has been proven to cause cervical cancer.  People are laughing, because only a girl can have a cervix, so why vaccinate boys?  For one thing, a vaccinated boy might be less likely to contract and then pass on the HPV to his girlfriend, raising her risk for cervical cancer.
And for another reason, here’s what the Federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention says:
"What about vaccinating boys?
  We do not yet know if the vaccine is effective in boys or men. It is
    possible that vaccinating males will have health benefits for them by preventing
    genital warts and rare cancers, such as penile and anal cancer. It is also
    possible that vaccinating boys/men will have indirect health benefits for
    girls/women. Studies are now being done to find out if the vaccine works
    to prevent HPV infection and disease in males. When more information is
    available, this vaccine may be licensed and recommended for boys/men as
    well." 
Sometimes the truth is counter-intuitive.  SUBMITTED BY PAULA FRANCIS

Categories: Medicine