Should Kids Get the HPV Vaccine?

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Tanya Altmann, MD, FAAP
Not only should your daughter get the HPV vaccine, but your son should as well. The HPV vaccine protects against human papillomavirus, which in women causes cervical cancer. It can also cause warts in either men or women. the HPV vaccine is approved for individuals aged 11 through 26. I here that they are working on a version for older women as well which would be great but right now we really try to protect those tween's and teenagers when they come into our office for well visit. and I give the vaccine to most of my patients starting at age 11 or 12. Parents often say to me, but my child isn't going to be exposed to the HPV virus, and I say, well, that's great; I hope none of my patients are. But at some point in your life, your child, your teenager, your college student may make a choice and they may be exposed to HPV or human papillomavirus, and if that's the case, wouldn't you want to protect them from a virus that can cause serious illness and cancer?