Contrary to popular belief, common sense, good old fashioned intuition, squeamishness, ignorance and fear of female sexuality, a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) does not embolden girls to have more sex, have more unprotected sex and contract more diseases.
Almost one-quarter of U.S. girls between the ages 14 and 19 and 45 percent of women between and 24 are affected by HPV. And though the vaccine isn’t foolproof, it can protect against genital warts, and more importantly, cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers which result from certain HPV strains.
You would think that these the vaccination, which consists of three shots, would be popular, given how widespread and lethal HPV is. But, by 2013, only 57% of girls ages 13 to 17 had received one dose and only 38% all three recommended doses.
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