After two years of stalling, the ACIP (Advisory Committee for Immunication Practices) has decided to finally make the HPV vaccine recommended for boys and young men instead of approved for them which is where they left it over the past two years.
In the meantime, those same young boys have grown into young men who have inevitably passed on this virus to any of not all of the women with whom they have had any type of sexual contact. Even kissing is now being considered as one of the means of transmission for the virus.
It has truly been remiss on the part of the ACIP as well as the CDC for not having employed research information available more than two years ago and to finally get around to using it now. The damage they have done is irreparable and we can only hope that any campaigns which the CDC now develops in light of this will be sufficient to make up for the damage they have already caused. To follow is commentary by Director of the CDC's Infection Disease unit who refers to recent information. While additional information has been collected, this information to which she refers has been in existence of over two years. I'd like to know how Dr. Schuchat explains the CDC not having put pressure on the ACIP in addition to running their own campaigns (of which I've seen none) and allowing more American citizens to become at risk for the six cancers which HPV is now known to cause:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/752193
A site for individuals to share in the conversation regarding life with HPV, concerns about HPV diagnosis and treatment, and to receive support and feedback from others. This site is created in conjunction with The HPV Support Network website which offers a vast array of information for both patients and providers.
