Although the main objective of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is to shield women and girls against cervical cancer, doctors are increasingly “beating the drum” for its importance in males also. From penile, anal, to oropharyngeal malignancies, this vaccination saves lives.
Doctors have urged parents to vaccinate the males against diseases caused by the Human Papillomavirus at a vulnerable age, same as they vaccinate the girls against. Among the most common sexually transmitted diseases, it causes several kinds of cancer in men and women. Although public health initiatives have mostly concentrated on teaching women to prevent cervical cancer, HPV causes most of the cancers among males; some of their instances involve the penis, anus, and throat.
Since most HPV infections are sexually acquired, doctors argue that early vaccination is absolutely vital. Boys vaccinated in the pre-sex years will help to stop the virus from spreading and subsequently cancer risks from arising. Though it can also be administered to older teens and young adults who have not yet had it, the vaccination is most effective between the ages of 9 and 14.
Apart from personal protection, widespread immunization of males against HPV would help build herd immunity and hence lower the general viral prevalence in the society. In turn, efforts in public health get more intense as the likelihood of cancer formation resulting from the virus in both vaccinated and unprotected people lowers.
Men in many nations are already part of national HPV vaccination campaigns, and Indian health officials are also thinking about the same as a strategy. Not only will males gain from more coverage of the HPV vaccination, but it will also greatly help to drastically lower HPV transmission, therefore affecting the cancer rates in the population.
Targeting parents, institutions, and medical professionals, the physicians also advise raising public knowledge of the need of vaccination boys against HPV. Correct knowledge and good behavior will be far-reaching in the battle to eradicate HPV-related tumors and ensure public health for next generations.
