information on sexuality from someone,” she said. “If you’re open talking about sexuality they’re going to come to you. The vaccine might not be right for you, but it’s a good way of opening up a conversation.”
“Certainly it’s a tough conversation to have, because nobody wants their children having sex,” she said.
Nevertheless, the median age for first sexual intercourse is 17 for boys and 17 for girls, Taylor told the gathering. Any kind of skin-on-skin contact involving the genital area can lead to HPV.
“A lot of the teens I see in my office don’t realize they’re having sexual contact,” she said.
There are 30 types of the virus that affect the genital area. Those types are separated into low-risk, that can produce genital warts, and those considered high risk, which can lead to cancer of the cervix and other cancers.
HPV may not show symptoms and most are not aware they have it. Women are diagnosed with HPV through abnormal Pap tests.
For most who get HPV, the body’s immune system eventually clears the virus. But in 10 percent of the population that doesn’t happen. The vaccine, said Taylor is designed to mimic the immune response.
Gardasil is only effective before exposure. The vaccine is administered in three injected doses, with each dose costing about $120. Most insurers cover the vaccine, said Taylor.
The big push for the vaccine, she said, is because it’s 100 percent effective against the types of the virus that cause cervical cancer, 99 percent effective against genital warts, and 95 percent effective for certain low-risk virus types.
There remain unanswered question about the vaccination, said Taylor, including how long it remains effective and whether it should be mandatory. There is no vaccine available for boys, though Taylor said there are trials under way.
“One of the scariest things about this is there are no symptoms,” said Taylor. “We’re targeting females because we have a test that can pick it up, which is the Pap smear. Most cases of cervical cancer are in women who haven’t had a Pap smear in five years.”
“I think that it’s something important for girls to do to protect themselves,” said Louise Messier, a Meriden resident who’d come to the program “looking for something like this, a little more discussion.”