Columbus Dispatch: Local doctors embrace new HPV vaccine recommendation

Physicians at OhioHealth agree that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination can help prevent many types of cancer.

Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending changes that will make receiving doses less time consuming for some. Last week, the CDC released a recommendation that preteen girls and boys (under the age of 15) will only need two doses of the vaccination (rather than the previous recommendation of three), six months apart. Those who get the vaccine between the ages of 15 – 26 will still need three doses.

HPV infections are responsible for approximately 27,000 new cancer diagnoses each year in the U.S. The HPV vaccine can prevent the majority of cervical, anal, oropharyngeal (middle throat) and other genital cancers. However, vaccination rates remain low across the U.S., with under 40 percent of girls and just over 21 percent of boys receiving the recommended three doses.

"Safe, effective, and long-lasting protection against HPV cancers with two visits instead of three means more Americans will be protected from cancer," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD. "This recommendation will make it simpler for parents to get their children protected in time."

The Columbus Dispatch spoke with Natalie Dick, DO, a pediatrician and sports medicine physician with OhioHealth Max Sports Medicine, about her thoughts on this new recommendation.