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While most HPV infections don’t cause disease, high-risk HPV infections are the cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. More than 170 types of HPV have been identified 15 are carcinogenic and 40 are transmitted through sexual contact. “Primary care physicians should discuss the HPV vaccine with parents and children at every 11- to 12-year-old well-child check so they don’t miss an opportunity to protect their patients from cancers caused by the HPV virus,” Allison says. The HPV vaccine is recommended at age 11 to 12 years because it is most effective if given before the child becomes exposed to the HPV virus, other vaccines are recommended at this visit, and children are less likely to come in for well visits when they are older, Allison says. In addition, data suggests that the immune response to the HPV vaccine is stronger in children compared to adults. However, Alison says studies suggest that if physicians discuss the HPV vaccine, parents are less likely to refuse than the physician may expect. Related: ACIP updates immunization schedule for 2016 “Some pediatricians and family medicine physicians aren’t discussing the HPV vaccine at the 11- to 12-year-old well-child check because they think the patient is too young or expect the parent to refuse the vaccine for their child,” says Allison. Well visits decline in frequency in the later teenaged years and, although physicians and parents may not see a need for HPV vaccination at 11 or 12 years of age as recommended, failing to offer education or recommendation for the vaccine is putting adolescents at risk, says Mandy A Allison, MD, MSPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora and the Children’s Hospital of Colorado in Aurora, lead author of a study on the perspectives of primary care physicians about the HPV vaccine. Physicians who assume parents will defer or refuse human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations for their preteenagers may be missing their chance to guard against the virus, according to a new study. Contemporary Pediatrics regrets the error.
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