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Low HPV Vaccination Rate For Boys in Nevada

HPV-related cancers are rising among American men. That's according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray reports Immunize Nevada is working to boost the number of boys getting vaccinations.

“What does your child dream of being? An architect? Or a vet? Maybe she dreams of traveling the world or he dreams of rocking it. But there is one thing no kid dreams of being and that’s being a cancer patient. That’s why you should get your kids vaccinated against HPV.”

Last year, Immunize Nevada launched a campaign to increase vaccinations against the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Infections are most commonly transmitted sexually.

Heidi Parker is with the group and says the vaccine protects against nine strains of the virus and is recommended for preteen boys and girls

“So it is important to get vaccinated before exposure, which is why we recommend that vaccine at 11 and 12,” Parkers explains. “That’s when the body has the best immune response.”

But Parker says the number of boys getting immunized is much lower than for girls both nationally and in Nevada. A third of of girls in the state are completing the full three dose vaccine compared to just 16 percent of boys. While that rate is lackluster, the number of boys getting the HPV vaccine statewide doubled between 2013 and 2014.

“We have really started to focus on the message,” Parker says, “that HPV vaccine is cancer prevention.”

Parker says some parents worry that vaccinations could lead to more sexual activity and this fear is one barrier to increasing the vaccination rate. HPV infections can lead to cervical, anal, mouth, and throat cancers.      

Anh Gray is a former contributing editor at KUNR Public Radio.
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