Who should get vaccinated and why?
My son or daughter is just a child;why should he or she be vaccinated?
Younger people get stronger protection. The Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that all Canadian girls and young women aged 9 to 26 be vaccinated against HPV. This expert group says that vaccination works best in girls aged 9 to 13, before they become sexually active. Research shows that after five years, girls who were vaccinated at a younger age have the highest level of immunity.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) supported this recommendation in a clinical guideline it produced in July 2007. The guideline helps health care professionals educate their patients about HPV and how to prevent it.
- Vaccinating your child at a young age means immunity will be stronger for a longer period of time.
- HPV is an infection that your child could get at any point in his or her life without knowing it. HPV spreads easily. Often, there are no signs or symptoms.
- An HPV infection that is not diagnosed could become cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva or anus.
- Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Canadian women aged 20 to 44, after breast cancer.
- Each year in Canada, 1500 women are found to have cervical cancer and an estimated 580 women die because of it.
- You have a chance today to decide that your child will never get cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva or anus. This decision could one day save your child's life.
If I decide to vaccinate my child against HPV, am I sending him or her the wrong message?
The HPV vaccination is really a vaccination against cancer, not a vaccination for sexual activity. Yes, HPV spreads through sexual contact, but vaccinating at an early age gives your child the best possible chance to be protected against HPV later on.
Research shows that the younger you are when you get vaccinated, the longer and stronger the protection lasts. When your child is older and more mature and thinking about more intimate relations, you can feel confident that you have done your best to protect him or her from HPV and some of the diseases it can cause.
What if my child is already sexually active?
They will still benefit from HPV vaccination since it is not likely that he or she will have been infected with all the types of HPV covered by vaccination.
The SOGC guideline also recommends that girls and women aged 14 to 26 be vaccinated if they have had:
- abnormal results from a Pap test, or
- genital warts or any kind of HPV infection.
Who should not be vaccinated?
Women who are pregnant or think they might be pregnant should not get vaccinated. If your child has a blood condition, an immune disorder or other health problems, talk to your doctor. They can tell you if vaccination is right for your child.
I’m their Mom. Can I get vaccinated too?
Right now HPV vaccination is not recommended for women over age 26. As studies on older women proceed, this may change. If you are concerned about HPV and are older than 26, you should talk to a doctor or other health care professional.
