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Should Boys get the HPV Vaccine? Who should pay for it?

aileen
1 Recommendation

Well, we now know the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved one of the HPV vaccines for boys too. The approval is to help stop genital warts. The FDA approval was not to stop cancer in boys/men.

However, we know that HPV is a cofactor in a great deal of penile and anal cancers and some head and neck cancers too. In addition, reducing HPV in boys/men will help provide herd immunity and further reduce cervical cancer rates in women.

SO, should boys/men be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine? Should it be paid for as it is for girls/women?

How should we communicate this to boys?? young men??...college kids too ???!!!! Parents of the boys??

What do YOU think??????????????

NCCC
www.nccc-online.org

Explore topics in this discussion:

Cancer Measles Genital warts Anal cancer Cervical cancer Viagra Hepatitis HPV Gardasil Stress

16 replies

phoenix73

The vaccine DEFINITELY should be paid for by insurance companies! Why are the health of our boys/males less important than that of our girls/females!? Add the HUGE number of women that will be spared the trauma/pain/fear of contracting the virus..whether it develops into something worse or not!

As for college kids..that's a tough one! It may be up to us as mothers/fathers/uncles/aunts/cousins/etc. to recommend/educate them..not leaving it up to the colleges to stress the importance. We also MUST not just talk about it like "it's no big deal.." /educate the medical community to take it more seriously..talk about it to EVERY woman..regardless of their age or PAP results! remove it from the "unknown" STD...

corellin

Hi Alan -- Absolutely, I feel boys/men should be vaccinated. But, to be most effective, it will really need to happen at the junior high/high school level before they start having sex. I'm not saying it's not effective to vaccinate older people, but just that I would think the main target is well before college. And I think it should be a school-based program funded by the government.

I'm wondering why the vaccines are so expensive. I know there were many trials and a lot of expense in developing the drug. But I wouldn't think the variable cost to produce more units is that expensive, so the more produced/sold should lower the cost. I also wonder if it will turn out there's a subset of girls who shouldn't be gettting the vaccine -- possibly due to certain pre-existing conditions. In that case, the herd really needs men to be pulled in as well. It will never be the case (in my opinion), that all young girls are vaccinated by the time they need to be, so in order for HPV16 & 18 to be eradicated, I believe the boys need to be vaccinated as well.

Further, it's a basic fairness issue -- a way to spread the burden of HPV to both sexes, rather than now expecting women to alone bear the burden of both the vaccine and the regular pap screening and treatment for the 50% of HSIL's that will remain -- even after the vaccine is widely distributed throughout the population. Men need to share the responsibility for eradicating HPV.

flowershoplady

ABSOLUTELY, boys/men should be vaccinated with hpv vaccine. I think the target should be boys, before they've had sex, just like it should be girls, before they have sex. Not only does it protect the boys/men from hpv related diseases (anal cancer, oral/head/neck cancers, lung cancers), it also prevents women from getting cervical cancers along with the same hpv related diseases that impact both genders. yes, it needs to be a herd approach. and, yes, i think it should be paid for the same way other vaccines are paid for. and, i'm still for treating this vaccine just the way hepatitis and measles and other vaccines are treated....routine vaccines that all kids get. unfortunately, i don't think young men will see the advantage of having this vaccine, and i think it's too late for them to be the focus anyway. however, they should still be educated on other ways to reduce hpv transmission, such as understanding that they may have it even without symptoms.

missnicelady

Flowershop- Just feel that I need to point out that there has yet to be any conclusive evidence that any of the vaccines will positively influence rates of any cancers other than cervical. Gardasil in particular can not be marketed as a preventative for any other diseases than cervical cancer and genital warts. We can speculate that some cancers (especially anal and tonsil cancer) will decrease as a result of the vaccine but the link between HPV and other cancers (lung, breast etc.) is still extremely preliminary. Additionally, there are many more high risk strains than 16 & 18 that may alter cancer expression.

While the vaccine might be a great step in prevention it is by no means a panacea. I truly believe that one of the best steps we can take is to better educate the public about HPV's link to disease, the importance of using a barrier method of birth control, and the health implications of having multiple partners.

Additionally, we need to address the stigma of STD related cancers. I like many people on this site have had few partners, always practiced safer-sex and was well educated about HPV and prevention before my diagnoses. The reason we hear so little about survivors is because of the fear of being label as reckless and being stigmatized. There needs to be an understanding that this will affect most people at some point in their lives.

As for the vaccination of boys, I'm of the opinion it needs to be a personal choice. Once men and women realize the positives of HPV vaccines free of hype and marketing I truly think they will decide it's the right choice in higher numbers.

Most importantly however, we need to have a convenient and reliable test for HPV in men. Without any routine indication of infection for half the population, it will be difficult to convince men of the benefits of a vaccine.

flowershoplady

missnicelady, gardasil has also been fda 'approved' for vaginal/vulvar cancers. and, just because it hasn't been tested and approved for the other hpv related diseases (and we know that it's hpv16 that is the main hpv strain causing other hpv related diseases such as anal cancers and oral-head/neck cancers), we know that if hpv16 exposure is reduced, then those other risks will be reduced.

the number of sexual partners isn't really part of this issue, in my opinion, because it only takes one partner to get hpv, and because, bottomline, some people will have many partners and increased exposure to hpv along with other stds.

i agree with you 100% that education is needed. and, we've come a long long way from just 10 years ago. and, hopefully with more education, the stigma will lessen. maybe.

i disagree that the vaccine should be a personal choice - first of all, i think it needs to be given to kids vs adults. and, do we leave hepatitis vaccination to personal choice? or any other vaccinations? hpv related disease transmission/exposure should, in my opinion, be a burden shared by men along with women....it's a 'human' virus, not a woman virus.

phoenix73

I agree w/ you ladies that waiting till college definitely is too late..especially considering the fact that so many kids are sexually active earlier! I'm the mom of two kids (4 1/2yr old boy and a 2 yr old girl) and aftre finding out that I have HPV ..my hubby and I have ALREADY decided that our kids will be receiving the shots when they are old enough! In MY opinion..it should be part of regular vaccinations..we as a society need to remove the secrecy/stigma of having an STD...we need to talk about the virus itself..and not just talk about women who have cervical cancer. (no disrespect to those who are fighting everyday to live their lives w/ this virus and the health issues it may lead to) We stress the "other" std's and barely talk about the one that can eventually cause cancer.

snowball012

YES YES YES YES boys should recieve this vaccine and be fully educated about HPV! And the insurance companies should pay for it.

missnicelady

For me the Hep vaccine was a personal choice. I received it because I worked in a health care environment. I realize things have changed. I suppose it's the libertarian in me but though I'm certainly pro vaccination, I hesitate to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for girls OR boys. IMHO it's up to individual families to make the decision as to what's right for their children as it relates to this particular vaccine. I realize that this is an unpopular viewpoint on this site.

I of course realize that people can have a single partner and be infected. I was trying to make the point that there needs to be a better awareness of the implications of each and every sexual act a person chooses to engage in. Could have worded that better.

flowershoplady

missnicelady, i don't think you're alone in your opinion, though i think that many people who have become aware of hpv due to their testing positive and/or hpv related disease recognize that it can happen to anyone and appreciate the concept that they may have avoided their current health issues if they'd been vaccinated.....and those are the people on this message board.

did you know that hepatitis vaccines are regularly given to children now? it's part of their recommended vaccines.

maybe you'll share why you think this particular vaccine should not be part of the routine vaccines for kids?

oh....and i agree with you, absolutely, that there's a need for increased education about the risks associated with sex, any and every sexual activity!

Faith2

100% for male vaccination, always have been! The vaccine could be given along w/the menningitis vaccination that's required (it is @ my child's school) upon entrance to high school - that's 14 to 15 year olds, just a thought. As far as paying for it...it should be covered under insurance programs as other vaccines currently are and in programs subsidized by the govt (taxpayer $, really is where that money comes from) to help with financially disadvantaged along w/charitable input from pharmaceutical cos.

aileen

So how do we educate folks about the FDA approved male HPV vaccine for genital warts?.....it is ONLY approved by FDA for Genital warts for men. Overstating what the vaccine can do when it is not FDA approved for cancers other then cervix cancer would be off label and possibly miss leading. Maybe we need a separate section o n the NCCC website for info. on this topic and let the reader decide on her own.NF

dazednconfused

Question: If a young man (in this case, my son) is in his early 20's and has already had a number of sexual partners, there's the chance he may already have been exposed. Also, not all the girls in this particular age group (college age and up) may have benefitted from Gardasil. Should he get the vaccine anyway? Is there any harm in getting the vaccine if you've already been exposed (to say, type 16 for sake of argument)? This goes for men AND women. Of course it would be too late to be effective, but could the vaccine be of harm?
And that question goes for men AND women... i.e.: is it ever too late?

phoenix73

If they receive the vaccine and they already have a strain of HPV..the vaccine will protect them against the particular strains that the vaccine deals w/ AND that they HAVEN't been exposed to yet! So it is important to get it..even if they've been exposed to hpv already because it could still protect them.

phoenix73

ps.. funny that we have to may have to fight/push for our boys/men to get a vaccine that may prevent them and their future partners from a lifelong virus..YET... insurance companies cover Viagra w/o blinking an eye for alot of men who may not really need it (saying this because my hubby's last doc appt he was asked if he wanted to give it a try!)

dazednconfused

My son knows what I've gone through, and has no problem getting the vaccine. But I was just wondering if the vaccine could exacerbate the effects of an HPV type they/we might already have (?)

And yes, I think it's ridiculous that Viagra is covered when so many other necessary medications are not!!

phoenix73

the vaccine won't have an affect on any hpv strain that already exists in your body...just any future ones that are affected by the vaccine ( strains 6/11..low risk and 16/18/high risk).

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