Gardasil, the vaccine for the human papilloma virus, is generally thought of as a girls-only vaccine. After all, its main purpose is to vaccinate against cervical cancer, something males never have to worry about. But what about genital warts? Gardasil protects against the two strains of HPV that cause genital warts, so why wouldn’t they want the vaccine? Well, Gardasil may be approved for boys this year in the United States, and it’s already approved for them in Mexico, Australia, and much of Europe. However, many parents just don’t see the point. Some actually say that because genital warts is treatable, their sons don’t need the vaccine. However, just because it’s treatable doesn’t mean it’s not a concern. Once you have genital warts or any strain of HPV, you have it for life—the vaccine doesn’t work retroactively. Vaccinating against HPV, no matter what gender, is recommended by many health care professionals.
Via New York Times