“Infections with two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) are showing marked declines among American women, and rising vaccination rates could be driving the trend,” says E.J. Mundell in a U.S. News article. These were the results from a current study including thousands of American women that tested positive for precancerous conditions of the cervix. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer among women but since the widespread production of Gardasil and Cervarix between 2008 and 2014, cervical cancers rates have declined. It is apparent from these results that the HPV vaccine does effectively work to prevent cervical cancer in young women. So why is it that so many people are hesitant to receive this vaccine? First, lets explore what HPV is.
According to the CDC, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are different strains of HPV that cause certain infections including cancer and genital warts. HPV is spread through vaginal, anal, or oral sex and can be spread even when the infected individual is asymptomatic. In many cases, HPV resolves on its own and does not cause health problems but in cases where it does not go away, cancer or genital warts can occur. Genital warts can be small or quite large resembling a cauliflower shape. The best way to prevent such health problems is to get vaccinated. But like with every vaccine, there are those that have hesitancy.
According to BBC, 1 in 3 girls in some areas of the U.K. did not receive the second dose of the HPV vaccine in 2017-18. A large part of the hesitancy for receiving this vaccine is fueled by social media. “Misinformation” or fake news about vaccine safety influences parents to not vaccinate their children. From my own personal experience, I have never received the Gardasil vaccine due to the hesitancy my mother had from reading articles on Facebook. My mother is very pro-vaccine as she is an ER nurse, so the fact that she has hesitancy towards this certain vaccine has always puzzled me. Recently, she sent me an article on Facebook on how the Gardasil vaccine has caused autoimmune problems in women that resulted in death. After investigating the source from which this article was published, I found that this source did not post reliable information. Even after explaining this to my mother, she still felt hesitancy. I have realized from my own experience the power of social media and that even through educated discussion on vaccine safety, many still do not listen.
Vaccine Culture 