Kansas City, MO - A recent study indicates the HPV vaccine is working.
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, can cause cervical, head, and neck cancers, but the vaccine, which doctors began administering to early adolescent girls around 15 years ago, is showing an 87-percent cut in cervical cancer rates, according to a study out of the United Kingdom.
“One of the persistent rumors is that it caused infertility. It most certainly does not," said Doctor Kevin Ault, a physician with the University of Kansas Health System.
Ault said after discovering about 10 years ago that HPV also causes head and neck cancer, which males are more susceptible to, doctors began vaccinating adolescent boys as well.
He said it is best for children to receive the vaccine when they’re in junior high.