Students considering vaccination against sexually transmitted disease

January 28, 2008 —

"I want to be ONE LESS."

This catchy phrase has appeared in commercials and on pamphlets as a way to encourage females to look into getting the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), Gardasil.

According to WebMD, there are over 100 different types of HPV. Of the 100 different types, 60 of them cause warts on areas such as the hands or feet and the other 40 are sexually transmitted. HPV can affect both men and women.

Gardasil is a vaccine that can help protect women from four types of HPV, the types that may cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts cases.

This vaccine is not a way to treat these diseases and is only for girls and young women ages 9 to 26.

"I definitely think that if you are going to be sexually active you should get it before you become sexually active," Gloria Hansen, staff nurse at Health Services, said.

"The recommendation is that it be administered to females only, preferably before they initiate sexual activity," said Assistant Professor of Nursing Lori House-Hewitt, R.N., M.S., C.N.M. "This is because as soon as you initiate sexual activity you could have exposure to any of the strains of the HPV, and therefore be exposed prior to the vaccine and then the vaccine for that strain wouldn't be effective."

Health Services does offer the vaccine, which is a series of three different shots done at one, two, and six months. The cost is $130 per shot.

If a student wanted to get the vaccine from Health Services she would have to pay up front so that they can order the shots.

Students can choose to try to get the shots elsewhere and their insurance may cover it.

"In the private sector, some insurances are covering it and some are not covering it yet," House-Hewitt said.

A 2007 survey by the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 27 percent of U.S. women between the ages of 14 and 59 have HPV with 45 percent of them being 14 to 19 years old and 27 percent of them being 20 to 24 years old.

"We have discovered a definite connection between cervical cancer and HPV," Hansen said.

"The vaccine itself covers four strains of HPV, which are the most often associated with different types of female cancer: cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancer, as well as genital warts," House-Hewitt said. "Approximately 70 percent of cancers are caused by the strains that are in the vaccine. There's still 30 percent of cervical cancer caused by HPV strains which are not in the vaccine."

There are some side effects that have been associated with receiving the vaccine. They are pain, swelling, itching, and redness at the injection site, fever, nausea, and dizziness.

An article by the Associated Press from earlier this month stated that "Gardasil is gaining a reputation as the most painful of childhood shots."

The same article mentioned a rise in vaccine-associated fainting in girls. From 2005 to July 2007 there were a reported 230 cases; around 180 of those followed a Gardasil shot.

An article from NewsTarget.com, reported that there have been 11 deaths associated with the vaccine as of October 8, 2007.

"Most of that is thought to be due to the reaction of an injection per say and not the vaccine itself," House-Hewitt said.

"Several deaths that I found, that the CDC has reported on, were probably co-existing conditions," House-Hewitt said. "For instance, somebody died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a clot to the lung, that shouldn't be associated with a vaccine."

Gardasil can prevent females from getting 4 different types of HPV, there are still at least 96 other types out there and the potential side effects are painful and, under certain circumstances, deadly.

Females need to weigh the positives and negatives of becoming sexually active, including the potential disease risk, and what measures to take, such as the HPV vaccine, to protect themselves.