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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Should HPV vaccination also be offered to boys?

27 replies

StoneTheFlamingCrows · 02/07/2014 09:49

I wanted to get all your thoughts on this, as I have just spotted an article in the student BMJ in this that is actually really interesting.

The HPV vaccination is currently offered to girls at age 12/13. It protects against 4 strains of HPV, the 2 that can cause cancer, and 2 that cause warts which are harmless but obviously unpleasant.

One could argue that seeing as it is only girls that suffer the harmful effects I.e. Cervical cancer, then only they need to be immunised. Plus, immunising half of the sexual population will prevent it's spread anyway through "herd immunity" so boys are then far less likely to catch or carry the virus.

However, is this just it another way in which we are forcing the burden of reslonsibility for the nations sexual and reproductive health on to women?

Plus, men are not completely safe when it comes to the virus. Both men who have sex with men, or men who have sex with unvaccinated women, may be at risk of cancers if the anus/rectum and mouth/ throat caused by the virus, and of course are still at risk of unsightly and unpleasant warts.

So, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts from a feminist POV, as it did get me thinking.

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Damnautocorrect · 02/07/2014 09:54

I think it should be given to boys.
I believe it can also prevent some throat and oral cancers too so surely if we can prevent that then we should regardless of sexuality.

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StoneTheFlamingCrows · 02/07/2014 09:58

Yes I think you are right.

I think really the only reason for keeping it just for girls, is this kind of sense that contraception/sexual things are the girls responsibility. Why shouldn't we be able to sleep with boys/men that are already protected themselves, rather than always having to protect ourselves from them?

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ChunkyPickle · 02/07/2014 10:26

Yes, I think it should also be offered to boys, the more of the herd you can cover the better in my opinion, even if it was just effective against cervical cancer, the fewer carriers, male or female, the better.

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StealthPolarBear · 02/07/2014 10:29

Interesting question.
my opinion is if we can halt the spread of it by vaccinating half the population AND that half is unduly affected by not being vaccinated then that is a good solution.
im assuming that is the case bht dont know. If most women would be at risk as opposed to a minority of men then I think a policy of vaccinating all women is a good one.

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StealthPolarBear · 02/07/2014 10:29

Chunky there is always an economic trade off. Vaccines, and administering them cost money

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CMOTDibbler · 02/07/2014 10:36

The numbers of men affected by HPV influenced cancers is much lower, so the health economics and risk/benefit balance is still not quite there. A medical intervention on a mass scale must have more potential benefit to the people who are exposed to the potential risk - a benefit for others may be incidental, but can't offset their own risk.

But studies are ongoing - and as anal cancer rates are rising hopefully they will be positive

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StoneTheFlamingCrows · 02/07/2014 10:46

How about offering it to men who have sex with men? They presumably as a population have a fairly high risk of HPV related cancers.

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CMOTDibbler · 02/07/2014 10:54

Thing is, people need to be vaccinated before they are exposed - thats why girls are being vaccinated at 12 and 13. Boys would need to be vaccinated at the same sort of age, which would make this very difficult, especially as parental consent is needed

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StealthPolarBear · 02/07/2014 11:02

If that's the case stone then I agree

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StealthPolarBear · 02/07/2014 11:03

Cmot why would it be more difficult to vaccinate boys?

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Yama · 02/07/2014 11:11

Yes, boys should be offered the vaccination. I spoke with a school nurse recently who said that in our area, genital warts is the sti they see the most (by far).

She has teenage sons and would have them vaccinated if it was offered.

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StoneTheFlamingCrows · 02/07/2014 11:13

I can see that identifying a sexual preference at that age may be difficult in boys.

So why not vaccinate all boys, acknowledging that they may go on to have sex with men?

In countries where female uptake is poor, it may be necessary to vaccinate boys to maintain herd immunity. In the USA uptake for girls is only 30% as it is seen as the "promiscuity" vaccine and that allowing their daughters to have it will encourage them to have premarital sex. HmmConfused

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Slipshodsibyl · 02/07/2014 11:15

Stealth, a paediatrician to me that unpreparedness to accept that children might have sexual contact soon after they are thirteen (whether we admit it or not) is a big barrier to early vaccination.

Since cervical cancer is seen as a female problem and anal/oral cancers in boys will be linked in minds to homosexual behaviours I am guessing the barrier might be that bit tougher to overcome. After all, it isn't very long ago that cervical cancer was pretty much linked to female promiscuity, despite a majority of people being exposed at some time .

I cannot understand why it isn't offered though, unless on purely economic grounds.

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Slipshodsibyl · 02/07/2014 11:16

Doesn't hpv also cause penile
Cancers as well as genital warts?

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StealthPolarBear · 02/07/2014 11:17

Thanks yes all good points

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StoneTheFlamingCrows · 02/07/2014 11:18

I think it may do - though pene cancers are still incredibly rare.

I think most boys/parents would be happy to receive a vaccine that stops them getting genutal warts from males or females tbh, even if that is not the only intention!

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StoneTheFlamingCrows · 02/07/2014 11:20

Penile

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BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure · 02/07/2014 12:53

The issue is health economics, as CMOT says, not contraceptive responsibility. The BCG vaccine is no longer routinely given but is offered at birth in areas with high levels of temporary or permanent immigration, presumably as those regions include people coming from populations without the prior herd immunity that made TB less prevalent.

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BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure · 02/07/2014 12:54

Having said that, if there's the option to pay for an HPV vaccine when DS is 12, I may well do so.

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GiantIsopod · 03/07/2014 01:23

I agree. Aside from the benefits for girls and women (if men can be a part of preventing the spread of certain illnesses/conditions, I think they should do, after all), HPV can have serious health implications for men and boys too. Not as common as with girls/women, but they do exist, and it's good protection for everyone therefore if more people, including boys, have the vaccine.

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StealthPolarBear · 03/07/2014 06:09

But they calculate what level of coverage is necessary forherd immunity. So it may be that the current uptake is good enough. In which case any more would be wasted money.
of course that may not be fully understood yet, the hpv vacc is fairly new

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sashh · 03/07/2014 09:33

A medical intervention on a mass scale must have more potential benefit to the people who are exposed to the potential risk - a benefit for others may be incidental, but can't offset their own risk.

That's what I couldn't articulate when I was 12/13 and given the rubella jab - I had no intention of having children, and the argument that I could sit on a bus next to a pregnant woman and infect her didn't wash with me because my brother could do the same.

BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure

At least one person on MN has paid for her sons to have the jab so it must be an option.

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BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure · 04/07/2014 09:43

Thanks, Sashh.

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AuntieStella · 04/07/2014 09:50

Any treatment (even off licence ones) can be had privately unless it would be totally unsocial to proceed with it. And immunising a boy against viruses which could cause him harm would definitely not be unethical.

You could ask your own GP if they can do it privately, or contact a private GP practice, or search MN for recommendations of private jabs clinics (try in the vaccinations topic. People there are usually asking about single measles jabs but I expect they'll offer pretty much everything that currently in manufacture).

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RainbowsStars · 05/07/2014 08:45

According to the NHS web site we can pay between £300-£400 to have sons vaccinated privately.

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