NYT Editorial: A Surprisingly Successful HPV Vaccine
June 21, 2013
A vaccine to protect teenage girls against dangerous strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are a leading cause of cervical cancer has proved to be enormously effective.
A study published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the prevalence of high-risk strains in teenage girls dropped by half after the vaccine was introduced in 2006, from 7.2 percent in 2006 to 3.6 percent in 2010.
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Health officials were surprised at the steep decline in infection rates because only about a third of American teenage girls have received the full course of three doses. In other advanced countries and even in a developing nation like Rwanda, vaccination rates have reached 80 percent or higher. Increasing the vaccination rate to 80 percent in this country could prevent an additional 53,000 cervical cancers and 17,000 deaths among girls now 13 years old and younger over the course of their lives.
Doctors need to recommend, and parents need to accept, a vaccine that can save thousands of lives.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/opinion/a-surprisingly-successful-hpv-vaccine.html?_r=0
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