Now it's boys who will be offered HPV vaccine

JUNE 01, 2010

I have to admit that I've been relieved that as the mom of boys I haven't had to wrestle with the issue of giving an adolescent child the HPV vaccine. Not so fast, slacker.

Now comes the news from my colleague, medical writer Letitia Stein, that the vaccine has now been approved for boys and the pediatrician is likely to talk about getting the expensive, three-dose vaccination against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus. In girls it has been found to prevent cervical cancer and in boys they say it can prevent genital warts, some cancers, and the vaccine could protect a boy's future sexual partners from HPV infections.

One leading expert in the field notes that getting boys vaccinated would slow the spread of the virus. Since only 18 percent of girls have received all three shots, according to the latest CDC data, boys could help to protect girls. Gardasil carries a sticker price of $130 per dose, or roughly $400 for the series. Insurance covers much of the cost for girls, but coverage for boys may be spotty, the story notes.

Darn it, Letitia! I had my head firmly in the sand on this issue and now I have to go and do some research.

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne

Posted by Times Editor at 9:07:22 am on June 01, 2010 in

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Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.

E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
wynne@tampabay.com

After six long years of trying to have a baby, Kate Brassfield was finally able to have one. And then, two minutes later, another one. Suddenly the lady who had never been around babies before was juggling two! Just as Kate felt she was getting pretty good with babies, the girls became toddlers, and now Kate is back to Square One, learning about the care and feeding of these strange, wonderful creatures. She spends her days working part-time from home and trying to keep up with the Twinosaurus Wrecks.

E-mail Kate Brassfield:
katedaphne17@gmail.com

Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at courtneyblogs@gmail.com.

Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, ZannaLand.com , and she's a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel in addition to being addicted to Twitter, iced coffee, and watching way too much Yo, Gabba Gabba.

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