By Mary Wade Burnside
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
Vaccines that inoculate girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) have been around for nearly four years, and now the same shot has been approved for boys.
Girls and boys ages 11 to 18 can get the vaccine, which is a series of three shots, at the Marion County Health Department. The patient can finish getting the shots at the age of 19 if they were 18 when the series was began, said Cyndee Kiger, the director of nursing at the Marion County Health Department.
The vaccine, Gardasil, helps prevent four different types of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers in women. HPV can lead to other types of cancers, including the anus, penis and throat, as well as to genital warts, a sexually transmitted disease. There are two vaccines against HPV from different manufacturers, but Gardasil is the only one that has been approved for boys in addition to girls.
