ACPeds Updates Position Statement on the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine
July 27, 2023
Media Contact: connect@acpeds.org
(352) 376-1877
Atlanta, GA – The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) has updated its 2019 Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Position Statement citing over 30 new references and has released a corresponding Patient Information Handout.
ACPeds continues to recommend offering the HPV vaccine to adolescents, especially those not committed to premarital abstinence. Healthcare professionals are strongly encouraged to counsel patients about the health benefits and risk reduction of avoiding sex, including oral-genital sex, outside of marriage.
HPV continues to be a highly prevalent sexually transmitted virus causing thousands of cases of oropharyngeal, cervical, and other cancers annually. Oropharyngeal HPV-induced cancer mortality in the U.S. occurs at four to five times the rate of cervical cancer and is thought to result from promiscuous oral-genital sex. Despite widespread use of the HPV vaccine, cervical cancer rates have continued to rise in the U.S., with the greatest increases in the 30-34 year age group, which would have been most likely to have received the vaccine.
Dr. Scott Field, ACPeds board member and author of the HPV Position Statement, says,
“Both efficacy and safety of HPV vaccines are less certain than most authorities portray them to be. Studies have yet to rule out a possible role of HPV vaccines in the dramatic drop in fertility in the U.S. in those under age 29 over the last 15 years. Healthcare professionals should use the conversation with their adolescent patients regarding HPV to promote sexual abstinence prior to marriage, which is effective against all sexually transmitted infections and can prevent unplanned pregnancy.”
To arrange an interview with Dr. Scott Field, please email connect@acpeds.org.
The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a national medical association of licensed physicians and healthcare professionals who specialize in the care of infants, children, and adolescents. It was founded by a group of concerned physicians who saw the need for a pediatric organization that would not be influenced by the politically driven pronouncements of the day. The mission of the ACPeds is to enable all children to reach their optimal physical and emotional health and well-being. The ACPeds is committed to fulfilling its mission by producing sound policy, based upon the best available research, to assist parents and to influence society in the endeavor of childrearing.