Edwards: HPV Vaccine Requires Different Messaging
The American Cancer Society is rolling out a public campaign this summer, pledging to eventually eradicate cancers related to HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, through use of the vaccine for adolescents, as well as screenings for adults who came of age before it became available in 2006.
Dr. Kathryn Edwards, professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases, said pediatricians have had to learn how to talk to parents of adolescents about vaccines.
“Pediatricians have been used to talking about infant vaccines … and do a really good job at that. It’s been a little more challenging with vaccines for adolescents,” she said. “We didn’t do a very good job at explaining what HPV was. The initial message wasn’t crafted in the best way. We’ve learned something from this.”