This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. When it first came out 10 years ago the vaccine against HBV was highly controversial. Somewhere upset at the notion of vaccinating 11 and 12-year-old girls against a sexually transmitted infection. A message that it can prevent HPV related cancers is getting through. The CDC says 50% of teenage boys have gotten one of the three recommended doses. That's up 8% in just one year. Joining me is Doctor Allison dose Lynch -- Dr. Alison Lynch. As I understand it, the human papilloma virus is an infection that money sexually active adults get. What kinds of health problems can it cause? 30,000 HBV related cancers are diagnosed each year. 10,000 cases of cervical cancer in women and had an next cancer -- head and neck cancer. That's not counting genital warts. When this came out it was said that it would prevent cervical cancel and girls. Did doctors know about the risk that boys would face or could face from HPV? We had an idea, it was first recommended for girls in 2006 and then shortly after it was reckoned -- recognized it was important for men as well. We've always understood that men and boys can be asymptomatic carriers, potentially passing the virus along to partners. We understand the majority of head and neck cancer in men are related to the HPV virus. That's different from 25 years ago. As you just said the rate of throat cancer in older men is rivaling the cases of cervical cancer now. 10,000 cases of cervical cancer in women and 9000 cases of head and neck cancer in men. We think HPV related cases in men will surpass those of women. Are you surprised, even with that are you surprised by the significant jump in HPV vaccinations among boys? I'm excited about it. It brings us to nearly half of the male population in the teens in the US and that being said, we are still falling short of the national goal. Our goal is 80%. What could be the reasons behind the increase that we are seeing? There's a number of different factors, our message is getting through. Teens and parents understand that the HPV vaccine can prevent cancer. I think also, a huge factor is that as of this year in California, teens are required by law to get certain vaccines before they enter the middle school. Parents and teens are being smart and taking the opportunity to talk to physicians about the HPV vaccine series. Girls have been getting the vaccine at higher rates, the CDC said the trend slowed last year. What do you think that could be? I think there are a number of different concerns that parents and teens have. They often ask me, if I give my child this vaccine is my child going to be more promiscuous? That is not true. We have studied it. People are worried about the risks of getting a vaccine and I tell them that every vaccine has risks. These vaccines have been studied for years and years, fortunately for most the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks. Do you think enough clinicians make kids and parents aware of this? Where I practice, we have been promoting this vaccine for girls for 10 years and boys 47. Fortunately, pediatricians who are speaking to the majority of the teens are doing a great job. You talked about some parents who might be apprehensive about vaccinating their kids at such a young age. What do you tell them about why this is necessary to do at this time? Why do we do this so early? There are different reasons. We want our teens to get immunity to the virus, before they are even exposed to the virus. Additionally, we think if they get the vaccine at such a young age they will have a more robust immune response to the vaccine. To think that parents and kids are aware of the fact that it's not just a one-time thing, they are supposed to get three doses within a six-month period? Ideally six months, currently if a team misses the second or third dose. Getting just one is effective and we don't have to do catch up. When you come in, we will give you the second and third chat. You mentioned and we did a show about this earlier this week, the new immunization standards in California. I don't know the HPV is one of the required vaccinations, is that right? It is not yet required in schools. We as physicians don't have to wait for the schools to make it a requirement. We are taking advantage of the fact that teens are coming in, as they enter middle school to educate parents and children. You mentioned the goal of getting 80% of adolescents to get this vaccine. The state of Rhode Island has 80% HP don't HPV compliance, because they require it at school. Do you think California should do the same? Eventually, California will require that children have this done as part of the adolescent series. There's currently five vaccines recommended and it just makes sense to include this. I've been speaking with Dr. Alison Lynch. She practices at Sharp Rees-Stealy.
In 2015, nearly half of all teenage boys had gotten at least one of the three recommended human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) doses, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That's up 8 percent from the year before.
When the vaccine first came out 10 years ago, it was highly controversial. Some parents were upset at the notion of vaccinating 11 and 12-year old girls against a sexually transmitted infection.
But the message that the vaccine can prevent HPV-related cancers is apparently getting through to the parents of both girls and boys.
Still, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that just 30 percent of boys and 48 percent of girls in California are fully vaccinated against HPV.
Dr. Alison Lynch, a family medicine practitioner at Sharp Rees-Stealy, discusses Wednesday on KPBS Midday Edition, why HPV vaccination rates still lag compared to other recommended vaccines for adolescents.
