HPV VaccineA study hit upon a strange revelation. Experts discovered that almost 80% of girls having the HPV vaccine apparently became double cautious about the risks involved with sex. This study alleges that girls that had the HPV vaccine may possibly be less promiscuous.

This is claimed to be the first survey that concentrates on the girl’s views instead of their parents. It demonstrated that, regardless of the assumption that the vaccine could make girls start having sex younger, the vaccine supposedly emphasized on the risks of sex for majority of the girls.

The study also disclosed that backing of parents could be crucial to the accomplishment of the vaccination program. Out of the girls whose parents declined the vaccine, around 42 per cent in fact wanted it. And about 10 per cent of the girls who were vaccinated did not want it.

Dr Loretta Brabin, study author based at the University’s School of Cancer and Imaging Sciences, commented, “This is the first insight into how a girl decides whether the vaccine is important to her and who influences her decision. Talking to their parents was massively influential on the girls, and mums and dads will play an important role in maintaining the success of the program so far. The thing that put girls off the most was fear of needles and how much it would hurt. Some girls had also heard rumors about side-effects, which had filtered down from the media and their parents and had been exaggerated along the way. Interestingly, media suggestions that the vaccine could make girls more likely to start having sex at a younger age hadn’t affected them. In fact, the vaccine actually made them more aware of the risks of sex.”

The experts interviewed over 500 twelve and thirteen year olds who had apparently been offered the vaccine in a study in Manchester prior to the availability of the vaccine nationally. Even though roughly 79% of the girls mentioned that the vaccine reminded them of the dangers of sex, around 14% remarked that they might take more sexual risks because of it. Almost four in five girls reported that they discussed the choice to have the vaccine with their parents. Around 93% of girls believed that having the vaccine illustrated that they are serious about their health and roughly 54 per cent felt that the poke was quite imperative to them.

In the UK, girls aged 12 to 13 are apparently offered the HPV vaccine as a part of the government’s vaccination programme that began last year. The vaccine has the possibility to avert at least 7 out of 10 cervical cancers.

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, mentioned, “Despite the scare-stories, this research suggests that the HPV vaccine could make the majority of girls more cautious about sex.”

Dr Walker concluded by stating that the HPV vaccine is an important step towards preventing cervical cancer in the UK but it will only be truly successful if the uptake is high. It’s important that girls also get appropriate sex education so that they’re aware of the risks.

The study was published in the British Journal of Cancer.