Why should I vaccinate my child against HPV?

In Brazil, the HPV vaccine has been available for free for five years by SUS .

It aims to protect people against the HPV virus, the human papillomavirus, preventing the appearance of genital warts (condyloma) caused by STD and some types of cancer , such as cancer of the cervix (most common), penis, anus and oropharynx.

However, vaccination rates are still low. Even with the reinforcements made annually by national vaccination campaigns, only 48.7% of girls aged 9 to 14 years were immunized.

Several factors can influence these low rates, one of which is the age of the target audience. In the case of younger children, there is a referral from the pediatrician himself, different from the HPV vaccine.

Thus, immunization in adolescents is more difficult than in children, because for this public the risk of cancer may seem a very distant reality, in addition to the possibility of being resistant to vaccination.

All of these factors have a negative impact on the protection of adolescents and adults against the virus and the serious complications that it can cause.

For this reason, we have listed some main reasons for those responsible to understand the importance of vaccination for adolescents.

Contents

HPV is common

According to the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC), transmission of HPV is so common that almost all sexually active men and women will be infected with at least one subtype of the virus during their lives.

This information takes into account the virus transmission data in the USA, but in Brazil, the situation is also worrying.

According to a study by the Ministry of Health at the Moinhos de Vento Hospital, even with vaccination campaigns, more than half of the young Brazilian population is infected with the HPV virus.

Prevents cervical cancer and other cancers

The development of the HPV vaccine is also responsible for causing a significant reduction in the number of cancer cases caused by the infection of the virus, such as cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, throat, anus and penis.

It is estimated that the application of vaccination, over 10 years, was also responsible for reducing the number of genital warts cases by 71% .

For parents and teenagers, perhaps, this is the main reason for seeking vaccination, as it is a safe and long-lasting method of preventing serious diseases such as cancer, which have a treatment that is much more complicated and debilitating.

It is an opportunity to prevent yourself from other diseases

In addition to the HPV vaccine, there are two other vaccines indicated for adolescents between the ages of 11 and 12 years: the vaccine against  meningitis  and  whooping cough .

Therefore, parents can take advantage of this moment to accompany teenagers so that they receive all vaccines at the same time.

It is a safe and lasting protection

The HPV vaccine is approved and considered safe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It has already been administered in several countries and, in years of monitoring, until then, immunization has been shown to be safe and with lasting protection.

It is worth remembering that like other medications, the HPV vaccine can also cause side effects. However, the recorded effects are mild and should not be an impediment to the target audience receiving the doses.

Loading...