Should Our Daughter Get an HPV Immunization Shot?
I'm unsure as to whether my 12-year-old daughter should be immunized against HPV.
Dear Dr. Bill:
We just received notice from the county health nurse that our 12-year-old daughter needs to be immunized with a couple of shots, and one is for HPV. We don't want to put our kids at risk medically, but my husband and I are uncomfortable about giving her this vaccine since we believe abstinence is the best way to prevent sexually transmitted disease. What guidance can you give us about making the right decision for our daughter?
— Karmell
Dear Karmell:
When I received your question, I consulted with Linda Klepacki, who is Focus on the Family's expert on sexual health and abstinence education. Linda is a registered nurse and has been educating students in sexual health for years. Here's what she advises:
"At Focus on the Family, we agree that abstinence until marriage is the best choice for young people. It's not only the healthiest choice but it's the plan that God put into place for us to assist in developing a deep love and bonding in a marital relationship.
Vaccines are an important and vital tool in the prevention of serious and sometimes deadly infections and diseases. Focus on the Family supports vaccinations for the prevention of serious illness. Any substance put into the body has a reaction including vaccines. Sometimes there are negative side effects but the overall good for society far outweighs the risks. We recognize that the U.S. government strictly controls vaccines to make them as safe as possible.
The HPV vaccine helps to prevent a deadly infection of the cervix that can lead to cervical cancer. The HPV virus is extremely common and can be transmitted very easily by skin to skin contact. It is not necessary to have sexual intercourse to transmit this virus. With the easy transmission and the high prevalence of the virus this vaccine has the capability of saving millions of women's lives every year."
Linda says it's important to keep in mind that our child may remain abstinent until marriage but their future spouse may not. And if a male doesn't remain abstinent there is a high probability that they will contract HPV and transmit it to their bride after marriage.
Our position at Focus on the Family is that we support the widespread availability of the vaccine but not the mandatory vaccination for school admission.
Karmell, let me recommend an excellent book by Linda Klepacki that I know you'll find helpful. It's called How to Talk to Your Kids About Sexuality and you can learn more about it in our online Resource Center.
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