MichiganRadio

U of M Study: Teenage Girls Not Getting HPV Vaccine ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) -

University of Michigan research finds few teenage girls are getting vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer.

Infection by the Human Papillomavirus is preventable with a vaccine that's been on the market for several years. The vaccine only works if administered before a girl becomes sexually active.

U of M researcher Amanda Dempsey says overall vaccine use is low among adolescents, with only 15% of girls eligible completing the 3 dose regimen.

"People are, in general, are becoming more and more hesitant about vaccinations," says Dempsey, "And because this is a relatively new vaccine, a lot of people are waiting for it to be out longer and for there to be more public experience with it before they give it to their own child."

Dempsey says greater efforts should be made to vaccinate girls as young as 11, as well as outreach to minorities and the economically disadvantaged.

The study appears in the journal Vaccine. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio