HPV vaccine discussion

Jessica Wright said:this isn't really the point, but people don't seem to get how you even contract it—is it more important to understand how it spreads or should we just be having this hypothetical debate about the vaccine instead?

honestly, I'd much rather we just stick to discussing the vaccine hypothetically, but clearly that's not going to happen here...

Megan Peterson87 said:basically, every woman gets HPV after their first time anyway.

MIRACLE, MIRACLE!!!! I'm pregnant, and a virgin!!!! 😬

back to the point:
1. there's plenty of unprotected sex happening as it is, so I seriously doubt this HPV vaccine is going to change the game much... people are way more worried about HIV and hepatitis these days anyway.

2. regarding how many women go in for Pap smears—Crimson Petal mentioned she isn't planning on skipping hers since she'll keep going regularly😁 but hey, as long as the number of gynecologist visits doesn't drop (since they’re the ones deciding—just like always—whether to run a Pap or specific typing), I don't see this vaccine changing those habits one bit.

3. yeah, okay, the price tag is still way too high, but honestly? that's hardly an argument against developing a vaccine like this in the first place.

holy crap, miracle workers... someone actually replied ontopic 😁

I seriously need to stop hanging out with certain people on this forum.

They're basically trading their answers on this thread for a beer. I mean, give me a break... 🤣

Honestly...

Anyway, the vaccine doesn't cover every single strain (that’s the big difference between the two—from what I gather, Merck covers maybe 2 or 3 more strains, but the GSK one seems to last longer). Both of them protect against the types that are the most pathogenic, and more importantly, the ones most likely to cause cancer. So, at the end of the day, the goal is protecting women from getting cancer caused by HPV, not necessarily from the virus itself...

Personally, I don't find options a) or b) particularly alarming. Most people seem to grasp the logic that even if you’re protected against one specific disease via a vaccine, there are still hundreds of other things you can pick up through unprotected sex. Besides, just because you've been vaccinated against one thing doesn't mean you should stop showing up for your routine checkups—those exams aren't just about one single issue anyway. (For what it's worth, I’d still get a Pap smear during my regular exam even if I were vaccinated, if only to ensure Merck and Glaxo get their beautiful statistics 😉 )
The real headache here is the cost. It really needs to be more affordable, and we need to figure out how—or even if—this kind of protection can be integrated into the healthcare system (I'm not entirely sure how that works here in the States, like what's covered, what the copays look like, or who qualifies for what)

I just stumbled upon this awesome link: a slightly more scientific take.

Super interesting stuff...

It also breaks down why the price tag is so insane—it's all about those virus-like particles, which involve proteins and all sorts of complex tech. We're not talking about some basic, run-of-the-mill drug made from a single little molecule, so manufacturing is incredibly expensive... it's tough to see how they could ever make it cheaper...

I caught a snippet on the news recently suggesting that this vaccine has finally arrived in the States, or at least will be hitting our markets within the next few months.
Is there any truth to that? And if it is, does anyone have an idea of what the price tag looks like for us here?
I tried doing a bit of digging on Google, but I couldn't find anything concrete to help me out.

Honestly, I think it’s only worth getting them vaccinated if we're talking about girls who haven't even started being sexually active yet.

I’ve read that women are typically vaccinated between the ages of ** and 28 because the efficacy is technically HIGHER, though it’s specifically most effective for those who haven't been sexually active yet. However, that isn't really my point. My actual question is whether this is readily available to purchase and, if so, what the price tag looks like 😉

man in da house 🙂 😁

I know for a fact that the vaccine (from GSK) costs about $150 per dose over three mandatory shots in Germany—so let’s just sit down and crunch those numbers ourselves for a second. 😁

The reality is that types 16 and 18 account for 70% of all cervical cancer cases caused by HPV. And given how people tend to react to things around here—you know, that tendency to immediately dismiss anything new—just imagine the backlash against vaccines that we don't even have long-term data on yet, since they've only recently been approved and are just starting to hit the market across the US and Europe. These could be absolutely stellar as a preventative measure against types 6, 11, 16, and 18, yet the average woman ends up dealing with 33 or 56 different strains... 🙄

And let's be real: you can't just "prevent" getting infected by one type of HPV by having already cleared another one, right? It doesn't work like that... does it?

PS Sarah Long, it honestly doesn't matter whether a girl is sexually active or not; the bottom line is she shouldn't have been exposed to HPV in the first place.

Rachel Brooks63 said:it isn't a stupid question; from what I understand, they're only going to give it to women. Don't ask me why—as far as I can tell, it's because only women develop any serious illness from HPV, whereas men just carry it around... 😁

and perhaps there is some other reason, though I am personally unaware of it.

That is pure foolishness. Both men and women can suffer from genital warts due to HPV, which is hardly a pleasant situation, especially considering they often have to be removed via surgical excision or acid treatments.

http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/std/...s_pictures.htm

Alexander Campbell7 - thanks for the intel, but I still find myself wondering if the vaccine has actually made its way here to the States yet.
As for the cost... I'm weighing whether it's truly worth the investment. If you follow the logic that it isn't worth it unless you fall into a high-risk category—say, if you have a long-term partner and all that—then maybe not. But then again, I wasn't considered a high-risk case for Hepatitis B either, yet I went ahead and paid out of pocket for that vaccination myself.
What exactly is the schedule for those three doses? Is it one month after the first, followed by six months after the second, or something else entirely?

From what I’ve gathered, the HPV vaccine really ought to be part of the standard immunization schedule for all women between the ages of 9 and 26—though, don't quote me on the exact age range there, my memory isn't perfect.
That would mean getting it for free! 👍
(Please, feel free to set me straight if I've got the details wrong!)

The thing is, though, what happens to those of us who are already over 26? I'm guessing we'll just have to foot the bill ourselves. 👎

And honestly, you can be the most devoted, faithful woman in the world, staying true to your very first partner, but if he was even once with someone else who was infected before he met you—well, you're still screwed!

In my view, attempting partial vaccination is nothing short of foolishness; if we truly want to eradicate these specific strains of HPV, we ought to be vaccinating everyone—both men and women—to ensure they are wiped out entirely.

Jeffrey Gonzalez5 said:That's pure foolishness. Both men and women can get genital warts from HPV, which is definitely not fun—you usually have to deal with surgical removal or acid treatments to get rid of them.

Look, there is a massive difference between a wart and cancer. 🙂
As far as I know, they aren't even caused by the same strains of the virus.

1) I don't buy it. Most people don't even realize you can catch HPV through risky sex unless they're out there scouring the internet for info. I certainly don't remember them teaching us a single thing about this in school; they just harp on about HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis...

2) Honestly, if someone goes out of their way to get vaccinated, they’re probably responsible enough to stick to regular gynecological exams anyway. They likely know enough to realize a shot isn't the only line of defense.

3) I think... no. 😁It costs a fortune, the effects aren't permanent, and they aren't even guaranteed. I'd much rather focus on boosting my immune system and staying on top of my Pap smears.

Taroth said:To get infected, you need a micro-trauma (like a tiny cut), unprotected contact (direct mucosal or fluid exchange), and the other person has to be positive...

HPV is mostly spread through sexual intercourse, but it can also happen through direct contact with infected skin or mucous membranes. There are cases where infections have been found in the respiratory tract or eyes, but the genital area is by far the most common site for infection.

The fact that HPV isn't transmitted exclusively through penetration is proven by the reality that some virgins test positive for it. There are also documented cases where virus-induced changes show up in the mouth, proving it can be spread through oral-genital contact too..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_papillomavirus

So, if anyone caught the news on CNN last night, there was a whole segment about vaccines, specifically touching on the HPV vaccine.

It sparked a massive debate because a lot of doctors are pushing for much more extensive testing; they basically want to wait for more data from other countries where it’s already being rolled out just to be absolutely certain there aren't any side effects.

Anyway, as of right now, these vaccines aren't even available here in the States,
nobody knows when they'll actually arrive,
and there wasn't any real talk about whether they'll end up costing us a fortune or not.

Oh, and yeah, the truth is there's a proposal floating around—modeled after how other nations handle it—to make it mandatory for girls starting at age 6 all the way up to 28. So, similar to how we handle the Hepatitis vaccine: mandatory, routine, and free for the little ones. As for the older girls? Who knows. I highly doubt it'll be free for them, though they didn't get specific about the price tag.

Is it actually possible that such a (relatively) expensive vaccine will end up being free 😁

Look, maybe they figure it's cheaper than dealing with medical bills and lost workdays later on...
Or maybe they actually have a conscience.😁

Furthermore, while the vaccine might carry a hefty price tag today, I suspect we will see significant cost reductions down the road. Once production scales up massively or the patents eventually expire, generic versions will hit the market, finally unburdened by those massive research and development overheads.