Well, well, well. Turns out administering the vaccine that helps prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV) to young people and teenagers does not lead them to have more unsafe sex, reports Gillian Mohney

The vaccine is recommended for both girls and boys between 11 and 12 years of age. It’s given in three doses and has proven wildly successful in preventing HPV, with an 87 percent drop in contraction rates among youth who receive just one dose, according to a CDC study.



In spite of its success, just 57 percent of female teens received at least one dose and 38 percent of male teens had received all three doses in 2013, according to the CDC. … The researchers looked at the medical history between 2005 and 2010 of 21,000 girls between the ages 12 to 18, who had been given the vaccine, and compared them with 180,000 women who did not have the vaccine. The study found that the vaccinated women did not have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, suggesting they did not have increased rates of unsafe sex. [Dr. Anupam] Jena said U.S. HPV vaccination rates pale in comparison to similar countries such as Australia, where around 80 to 90 percent of eligible young people are vaccinated. He said he hoped the research would encourage parents and physicians to get their children vaccinated.

Seriously, knowing that a vaccine can prevent your child from getting cancer one day and not giving them that vaccine is pretty much parental malpractice.

Get over it, America. Your child will one day have sex. She or he may as well be protected.

