CommonHealth: HPV Vaccine Recommended For Girls, Boys

07:51

September 27, 2011

When GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachman related a story on the "Today Show" linking the HPV vaccine with mental retardation, she was roundly criticized by the medical establishment, which broadly supports the vaccine.

Still, even someone as savvy as CommonHealth contributor Karen Weintraub hesitated when considering whether to get her own daughter vaccinated. HPV is strongly linked with cancer later in life, but there is no long-term data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

We talk with Weintraub about her experience, which she wrote about on CommonHealth, and we hear from a doctor who thinks the vaccine should be standard procedure for both girls and boys.

Guests:

Karen Weintraub, freelance Boston science journalist
Dr. Natalie Pierre Joseph, adolescent medicine provider, Boston Medical Center; assistant professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine, Boston University School of Medicine

More:

CommonHealth: So Should My Daughter Get The HPV Vaccine?
CommonHealth: HPV Vaccine: The View From Australia (Hint: They Like It There)

This segment aired on September 27, 2011.