The HPV vaccine has long been criticized for supposedly encouraging young girls to have sex, since the way that a person would even get the human papillomavirus is through sexual activity. However, a new study has actually found that this is just NOT true: just because these girls CAN have sex (relatively) safely, doesn't automatically mean that they will! Can we all just breathe a collective sigh of relief now?
Read more ¿Que Mas? Why every girl needs to get the HPV vaccine
The new UK study, published in the journal Vaccine, found that getting the shot that can prevent cervical and is most effective when given to girls BEFORE they start having sex doesn't actually "make girls more sexually active, or less likely to use condoms if they are having sex," according to the New York Daily News. That's definitely good to know, right?
Read more ¿Que Mas? CDC says HPV vaccine is a must for young boys. Do you agree?
To be honest, I'm really glad that this research has come out. As someone who had the HPV vaccine, I'm absolutely a BIG supporter of girls getting it. Although I was already sexually active when I got it, it didn't really change anything in that department. To me, it was a choice about my health–a way to ensure that I don't get cervical cancer in the future. And what's wrong with helping other girls do the same?
Even if they're 10 or 11 today, I think we all know that our daughters are going to have sex at SOME point in their lives. And if getting the shot is only going to protect them from cancer-causing HPV and NOT actually encourage them to have sex, then what's the harm?
Image via VCU CNS/flickr
