There’s no doubt that HPV vaccines have been highly effective, reducing new HPV diagnoses in younger women by close to 90%. However, some have negative opinions about the HPV vaccine, and have voiced their concerns on social media and are often interviewed on television. A study from Drexel University attempted to analyze social media perceptions about HPV on Twitter.
Contrary to their expectations, they saw that 39% of the 200,000 tweets about HPV vaccinations that they analyzed were positive, while just over 25% were negative. As social media becomes an important source for health information, it’s integral to have correct information about vaccines, drugs, and other health issues available to patients.
What is HPV?
HPV (human papillomavirus) is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It is distinct from HIV and HSV (herpes). There are many different types of HPV, some of which can cause genital warts and certain cancers, and there are HPV vaccines that can help stop these health issues from occurring.
HPV is spread by vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. It can be spread regardless of whether someone is showing any symptoms. Any sexually active person can contract HPV, even if they’ve only had sex with one person, and they may not develop any symptoms for years afterward.
The HPV Vaccine(s)
There are two common vaccines for HPV administered in the United States: Gardasil and Cervarix, which protect against different strains of HPV. The CDC recommends that all boys and girls aged 11-12 get vaccinated twice. There are also catch-up vaccines available for males through 21 and females through 26 if they did not receive the vaccine earlier. The vaccine is also recommended for gay and bisexual men (or any man who has sex with a man) through age 26 if they are not vaccinated earlier.
Prevalence
HPV (the virus) is the most common STI, with about 79 million Americans currently infected with the virus. 14 million new people become infected annually, with most sexually actively people contracting one type within their lifetimes.
Genital Warts- Before HPV vaccines, around 340,000-360,000 people had genital warts caused by HPV annually. About 1% of sexually active adults in the U.S. has genital warts at any given time.
Cervical Cancer- More than 11,000 women in the United Stated are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually. Approximately 17,600 women and 9,300 men are affected by other cancers caused by HPV.
Vaccine Prevalence- It’s difficult to measure exact prevalence for HPV vaccination, as there are multiple vaccines and multiple shots needed, but there are methods of measuring adherence. In the CDC’s latest statistics, approximately 60% of girls started their HPV vaccine series, while about 50% of boys have started theirs. Closer to 40% of each have had the full two-dose regimen.
The latest CDC statistics report that 6 out of 10 girls and 5 out of 10 boys across the U.S. have started the HPV vaccine series. Source: cdc.gov
Conclusion
The high prevalence of HPV makes the vaccine incredibly important. Although the number of young adults receiving the vaccine is rising, it’s important that more and more parents and pre-teens educate themselves on the necessity of Gardasil and Cervarix for both boys and girls. Protecting yourself from HPV is an important step in your personal health. Improving the social media perception and increasing the available knowledge on HPV is the first step in increasing vaccination prevalence and eliminating HPV from the United States and the world.
