The Daily Populous Wednesday April 28th, 2021 evening edition
Authored by labblog.uofmhealth.org and submitted by mvea

The COVID-19 vaccine isn’t having any trouble attracting suitors.

But there’s another, older model that’s been mostly ignored by the young men of America: the HPV vaccine.

Using data from the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Surveys, Michigan Medicine researchers found that just 16% of men who were 18 to 21 years old had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine at any age. In comparison, 42% of women in the same age bracket had gotten at least one shot of the vaccine.

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The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends two doses of the vaccine at 11 or 12 years old, but Americans can still benefit from the HPV vaccine if they receive it later, as long as they get three doses by age 26.

In the U-M study, however — even among those who were vaccinated after turning 18 — less than a third of men received all three vaccine doses, and about half of women did.

“Eighteen- to 21-year-olds are at this age where they’re making health care decisions on their own for the first time,” says Michelle M. Chen, M.D., a clinical lecturer in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the first author of the study. “They’re in a period of a lot of transition, but young adult men especially, who are less likely to have a primary care doctor, are often not getting health education about things like cancer prevention vaccines.”

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nematocyst987 on April 28th, 2021 at 14:26 UTC »

Guys I just looked into this- the vaccine recommended has been increased to 45 and (check with your insurer first) but it’s generally covered by many insurances.. it’s a series of 3 quick shots over six months! No reason not to get it.

amalgaman on April 28th, 2021 at 13:01 UTC »

God. I remember when the vaccine first came out. Parents didn’t want their eligible students to get it because “it would make them have sex.”

PonyKiller81 on April 28th, 2021 at 12:47 UTC »

Straight up I had no idea there was a vaccine for men. Nobody tells you this stuff after a certain age.