Boys and the HPV Vaccine

Pediatrician Lawrence Ross, MD Infectious Disease, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, discusses why it is now recommended that boys also receive the HPV Vaccine and the health benefits that the vaccination has for boys
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Boys and the HPV Vaccine

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We now are recommending that all boys receive the papillomavirus vaccine as well as all girls. And I'm very excited about this recommendation because I know that in the United States there are one million cases of genital warts every year, and this is both in girls and in boys, men and women. And we know that this vaccine will prevent up to 90% of these genital warts. And these genital warts are terrible. They can cause very severe pain, they can cause a great deal of depression and other psychological issues. And so having this vaccine to diminish that is very important. In addition, we now know this vaccine will prevent cancer of the anus and certain types of cancer of the mouth and throat. And both boys and girls can get that and preventing that is a very good thing to do, a very good goal. The most important reason I think is that I hate that we've singled out teenage girls for one vaccine and boys not to get it. I think that that demonstrates kind of a bias and the public would see it that way. And now that we recommend it for both, I think that it will be much more acceptable. The one point I would also make interesting is that one side effect that we do know of the papillomavirus vaccine is it will make you faint, as many vaccines do in teenagers. And my pediatric friends tell me, "Wait until we start giving it to boys, we'll start seeing a lot more fainting."

Pediatrician Lawrence Ross, MD Infectious Disease, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, discusses why it is now recommended that boys also receive the HPV Vaccine and the health benefits that the vaccination has for boys

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Lawrence Ross, MD

Pediatrician, Infectious Disease, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Dr. Lawrence A. Ross is a pediatrician and expert in infectious diseases.  He has been a full-time member of the Division of Infectious Disease at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles since 1978 and has served as Hospital Infection Control Officer as well as the Chairperson of the Infection Control Committee for 20 years.  He is also a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.  Dr. Ross graduated from the University of Illinois and subsequently attended medical school at the Chicago Medical School in Chicago. He completed residency training in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, followed by fellowships in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California School of Medicine. From 1981-1985, Dr. Ross served as the coordinator of the intern and residency program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. His areas of interest have included epidemiology of nosocomial infections as well as clinical aspects of care for patients with immune compromising diseases including patients with HIV infection. 

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Transcription: 
We now are recommending that all boys receive the papillomavirus vaccine as well as all girls. And I'm very excited about this recommendation because I know that in the United States there are one million cases of genital warts every year, and this is both in girls and in boys, men and women. And we know that this vaccine will prevent up to 90% of these genital warts. And these genital warts are terrible. They can cause very severe pain, they can cause a great deal of depression and other psychological issues. And so having this vaccine to diminish that is very important. In addition, we now know this vaccine will prevent cancer of the anus and certain types of cancer of the mouth and throat. And both boys and girls can get that and preventing that is a very good thing to do, a very good goal. The most important reason I think is that I hate that we've singled out teenage girls for one vaccine and boys not to get it. I think that that demonstrates kind of a bias and the public would see it that way. And now that we recommend it for both, I think that it will be much more acceptable. The one point I would also make interesting is that one side effect that we do know of the papillomavirus vaccine is it will make you faint, as many vaccines do in teenagers. And my pediatric friends tell me, "Wait until we start giving it to boys, we'll start seeing a lot more fainting."