Guardasil Vax For 12 Year Old Boy?

[pweyl36]

But don't you know that actual doctors and scientists refuse to give the vaccine to their own children? They know things we don't! You must have missed the secret memo.

(In all seriousness, I spent entirely too much time this morning Googling to see what would pop up.)

Well My Dr did have his sons get the the shot, as for Google, not a reliable source.

 

[Magpie]

Well My Dr did have his sons get the the shot, as for Google, not a reliable source.

No worries, I wasn't being serious. Google turned up a lot of appallingly dodgy sites with names like "vaccineTRUTH", etc. Not sources I want to trust.

Obviously some doctors and scientists get their kids the shots. And some don't. Just because a person with a degree is well-informed in one area, doesn't mean they're well-informed in all areas. Having grown up on a university campus, I am well acquainted with "experts" who expound on things they know nothing about (or worse, know just enough about to consider themselves an authority). My mum, bless her, once tried to lecture an economist on Economics. She's got a doctorate in Art and Religious History.

My daughter got all her shots! (Edit: Eventually. Somewhat later than she should've. I waffled initially, back in the late 90's, because of reading a bunch of parenting magazines with gory tales about dead babies. So I've been there and done that, and my kids got chicken pox.)

 

[laughinplace199]

DD18 and DS16 both got this vaccine when they were around 13 or 14 years old. DS10 will also get it when he's old enough.

 

[runwad]

Both my girls got it and DS17 is due for his second round next week. Our ped recommended we wait awhile with DS to make sure all was ok with the vaccine.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Signed the form for my almost 11 year old son to get it last night actually. Never blinked an eye about signing it.
Someone I know had oral cancer from HPV.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Hm, preventing CANCER based on scientific study and medical advice versus listening to conspiracy-theory-loving crackpots doing "research" on teh interwebs. Yeah, I know who I trust.

 

[Poohforyou]

My now 18 year old dd is a college freshman. She got the series of shots this past school year, as a 17 year old senior. I wanted her protected before she left home. She doesn't have a boyfriend and isn't active but I didn't want to wait any longer. We mostly waited to get more data and also because of her size, she's tiny. I worry about anything that has a dosage based on average size that's much larger than her. I think it's a smart thing to get but I think 12 is very arbitrary. You know your child though. If there's a remote possibility of exposure consider getting it sooner rather than later.

 

[disneychrista]

Does anyone know why they won't give it to those older than 26? My oldest daughter is 26 now but with needing 3 shots over a period of time will be 27 when the series would be complete so they won't give it to her.

 

[runwad]

Does anyone know why they won't give it to those older than 26? My oldest daughter is 26 now but with needing 3 shots over a period of time will be 27 when the series would be complete so they won't give it to her.

Basically per this article because by that age they feel you've already been exposed to the virus, you can get it but insurance doesn't cover it. Read this article:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...or-older-women-to-get-the-hpv-vaccine/258611/

 

[Pamlur]

I work in a Dr office and we haven't heard anything bad. what did you read?

I'm sorry, I just now saw this; haven't come back to this thread. My oldest granddaughter had the vaccine with no side effects at all, but my daughter chose not to vaccinate her son or younger daughter. I have read articles, but couldn't tell you where, of bad side effects like AprilGail was talking about and some others. Since I can't quote where I read them, I'm not going to try to remember what alarmed me.

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

Does anyone know why they won't give it to those older than 26? My oldest daughter is 26 now but with needing 3 shots over a period of time will be 27 when the series would be complete so they won't give it to her.

I don't know the answer to why insurance won't cover it at that age, but I will add that it's now only two shots, or that's what our pediatrician said when it came time for my son's second round. My daughter got it when it was three rounds, so she was a little annoyed.

 

[kimblebee]

I don't know the answer to why insurance won't cover it at that age, but I will add that it's now only two shots, or that's what our pediatrician said when it came time for my son's second round. My daughter got it when it was three rounds, so she was a little annoyed.

My daughter got two shots, five or six years apart.

She got the first dose at school in grade 5 or 6 and had a slight reaction (allergic reaction based on symptoms but further testing proved she wasn't allergic to any of the ingredients so it was just put down as a anomoly). She's needle phobic as it is so I didn't press her to get the second dose and it just went out of my head.

The day I got my diagnosis and told my daughter she said 'it's time I got the second dose'. Within the week she was at the dr office getting the shot. She almost passed out but that's normal every time she gets a needle.

She hates needles but keeps getting pierced. It's a whole production that I have to be a part of every time LOL

 

[melissapealo]

My youngest DS just turned 17 and he got it. It was not offered at age 12 though and we inquired about it just last year. So he received the doses when he was 16. HPV can cause cancers as well as numerous other problems. I am glad that my son could still receive the vaccine when he was 16 and is protected. I wish it had been around and offered when my oldest DS who is 24 was that age.

 

[melissapealo]

Does anyone know why they won't give it to those older than 26? My oldest daughter is 26 now but with needing 3 shots over a period of time will be 27 when the series would be complete so they won't give it to her.

We were told at the pediatrician it depends upon if they could already be affected by HPV and the likelihood of that increases as age increases. Not sure if that is the doctors reasoning with your DD.

 

[Geoff_M]

Basically per this article because by that age they feel you've already been exposed to the virus, you can get it but insurance doesn't cover it. Read this article:

That's likely the indirect reason. The primary reason is most likely that the limit is due to the fact that the safety studies used to support the vaccine's FDA approval did not include women above that age cut-off (I assume for the reasons cited in The Atlantic). Contrary to what critics of the industry say, the FDA normally won't approve usage of a product in populations that were excluded in the studies used to support safety and efficacy claims. This is one of the reasons that when the HPV vaccine was approved in the US initially it wasn't approved for boys. At that time they were still working on the safety data for boys and the approval was extended to males after that data set showed it was safe for them too. "No data, no approval!" is the norm for the FDA.



Instead of talking about all of the hypothetically about HPV and vaccines and whether or not it's analogous to car crashes, let look at what the real impact of the HPV vaccine has been so far. Last year the first look at the impact that the vaccine is having in terms of it's intended purpose was announced and the results are pretty amazing:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence is down 64% since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a vaccination for the sexually transmitted infection a decade ago, according to a study released on Monday.

CDC researchers said this is also the first time a study has shown evidence of the effect of the vaccination on women in their 20s, where prevalence decreased 34%, even though vaccination rates for HPV are relatively low in the US.

Let the two sections I bolded sink in for a moment. Even though, due to things like some of the sentiments expressed in this thread, the vaccine uptake rates for HPV vaccines are still pretty low by comparison with other vaccines, we STILL see a major drop in HPV infections. To me, that's where "the rubber meets the road."

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't know the answer to why insurance won't cover it at that age, but I will add that it's now only two shots, or that's what our pediatrician said when it came time for my son's second round. My daughter got it when it was three rounds, so she was a little annoyed.

If they are older (15+), they still need 3 doses. We waited with dd16 because she was really small, but had a huge growth spurt at 16 (5'2", 107 pounds!), but needs 3 doses.

 

[disneychrista]

I wish it had been around and offered when my oldest DS who is 24 was that age.

He can still get it. The series must be completed by age 26.

 

[disneychrista]

We were told at the pediatrician it depends upon if they could already be affected by HPV and the likelihood of that increases as age increases. Not sure if that is the doctors reasoning with your DD.

Not sure either. She turns 27 in January and wouldn't be able to get in to start the series until Mid-October. She is currently HPV negative as she was tested a few months ago before I had my diagnosis.

 

[melissapealo]

He can still get it. The series must be completed by age 26.

It's my understanding that there is no testing for HPV for males, only females. So the doctor would not give the vaccination based on his age and the likelihood of already being exposed. I could probably have him check with a different doctor. Has your DD checked with other doctors on possibly getting vaccinated? If it is an insurance issue maybe you could look into paying OOP for it? Possibly insurance won't cover it due to her age but I know that the manufacturer has discounts available.

 

[melissapealo]

I guess it can be a parents choice to get a child vaccinated or not at the recommended age. However I am glad that in NY state a minor can request the vaccine on their own. They do not need parental consent to get the vaccine. I don't know if other states are the same or not. It is nice to know that teens here are able to make that choice for them self and not need a parent to approve or even know they are getting the vaccine. Considering it is the most common std, I feel that a teen should be able to make that choice on their own, especially considering it will affect them the rest of their life. Facts are teens are having sex whether parents approve or not and they should have the right to protect themselves.