Problem with HPV vaccines is that they're not yet fulfilling their promise

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann deserves the backlash she is getting for her grossly misleading and unfounded assertions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines to protect against the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the deadly gynecological cancers it causes.

Meanwhile, amid the political rancor, the real tragedy surrounding these groundbreaking and life-saving vaccines is overlooked: Their promise remains largely unfulfilled.

The vaccines have been available since 2006 and are recommended by every major medical group, from the American Cancer Society to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And yet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that HPV vaccination rates are lagging far behind other important vaccines for teens. In 2010, coverage rates for the vaccines against diseases like tetanus (69 percent) and meningococcal meningitis (63 percent) far exceeded the 32 percent coverage rate for the three recommended doses of the HPV vaccine.

Even more troubling are the disparities revealed in these rates: African-American and Hispanic girls and girls living in poverty all are less likely to complete the three-dose series. Our job is to work together to prevent and reduce the thousands of HPV-related cancer deaths each year in this country. To that end, Planned Parenthood has administered thousands of vaccines in the region since they became available, and each year provides more than 20,000 preventive exams. Just as important, our education programs give teens and adults the fact-based information and risk-reduction strategies (including delaying intercourse and using condoms effectively and consistently) they need to protect themselves and their partners from HPV and other sexually transmitted infections.

HPV vaccines are a pioneering scientific breakthrough in the prevention of cancer. They carry the potential to protect the health and wellbeing of all our young people and to save thousands of lives each year. It's a travesty to politicize them.

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Sarah Stoesz is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.

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