FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Infection with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, can lead to cancers of the cervix and throat, as well as other body parts. However, a vaccine protects against forms of HPV that most frequently cause cancer. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researcher Shannon Stokley:
“The HPV vaccine series consists of three doses, and it’s recommended that all girls and boys receive this vaccine at age 11 or 12.”
Stokley adds that it’s not too late to get vaccinated even up to age 26. But the vaccine has been out since 2006, and she says coverage is still very low – partly because people don’t know about it and its benefits.
