Gundersen pediatrician puts to rest fears of HPV vaccine

Court case in Wisconsin alleges
it caused ovarian failure

 

A federal court case in Wisconsin has highlighted the fears that some have over the HPV cervical cancer vaccine.

Unfounded fears, says Gundersen Health System pediatrician Raj Naik. The vaccine is almost the opposite of dangerous.

“It’s remarkably effective and, in fact, the ability to induce immunity in those that received a full series is 99 percent,” Naik said.

A federal judge has just dismissed claims by two sisters in Wisconsin that the HPV vaccine caused their ovaries to fail.  

Naik says the the vaccine has been proven to be absolutely safe.

“The overall use of the vaccine is still lagging behind where we want it to be,” Naik said.

HPV virus is connected with not only cervical cancer, but also anal and throat cancer.

“It’s so effective,” Naik said, “that we could prevent, perhaps, almost all of these HPV-related cancers in this country, which include not only cervical cancer for women, but it’s the cause of 70 percent of head and neck cancers in both men and women.”

The vaccine is recommended for 11- and 12-year-old boys and girls and comes in three doses.  

Naik says there’s often a need to dispel myths about the vaccine, but not for the reason that some think.

“It’s not about being promiscuous or any of that,” Naik said. “The fact of the matter is, most people are going to become infected and going to come into contact with the virus unless we do something about it.”