Despite fears to the contrary, sexual behaviours of adolescent girls stayed the same or became safer after publicly funded school-based HPV vaccinations were introduced in British Columbia (BC), according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.180628.
Some groups have been concerned that HPV vaccination could encourage early sexual activity, unprotected sex and other risky sexual behaviours.
“The HPV vaccine has proved to be a remarkably effective and safe vaccine. However, parents have expressed concern that the use of the HPV vaccine might promote or condone risky sexual behavior in adolescents,” explains lead author Dr. Gina Ogilvie, of the School of Population and Public Health, the University of British Columbia, and assistant director of the Women’s Health Research Institute at BC Women’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC.
In 2008, BC introduced a publicly funded routine HPV vaccination program in schools for girls in grades 6 and 9. After 2011, the program was available only for girls in grade 6.
Source: EurekAlert!
