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But here’s more good news: we know the HPV vaccine works. In the U.S., for example, it has been shown to reduce the rates of infection among 14- to 19-year-old girls by more than 56 per cent since it was introduced in 2007, and there are indications it might be similarly successful among boys. So with such obvious benefits, why would Ontario choose to leave half of its young population exposed?

Money. Obviously. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Health a couple of weeks ago, the province has put off expanding its vaccination program to boys in order to evaluate “economic and societal factors.”

If trends continue the way the are, the rates of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer in the U.S. will surpass that of cervical cancer by the year 2020

There’s no question that these vaccines don’t come cheap, but they certainly don’t cost as much as treating a patient with oropharyngeal cancer, and indeed there may long-term savings — anywhere from $8 million to $28 million per year, as a recent study has shown. Furthermore, the immunization program in Ontario now depends on the notion of “herd” immunity, whereby the spread of the infection is contained if a large enough proportion of the population is inoculated. That means, essentially, that 15-year-old boys in Ontario today are left to either trust that the girls around them have been vaccinated, or to fork over the money in order to protect themselves. (This also leaves boys who might contract the virus from other boys completely exposed to the infection).