Utah parents' fears of promiscuity blamed for not protecting kids against cancer

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) Doctors in Utah and in the intermountain west are trying to study why parents aren’t giving their kids the HPV vaccine which can prevent cancer – including cervical cancer.

Utah’s HPV immunization rates are very low compared to other states.

In fact the state is the 49th lowest for boys and 43rd lowest for girls, according to 2015 numbers provided by the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Dr. John Sweetenham, Executive Director of Clinical Affairs for Huntsman Cancer Institute, said doctors believe one reason for the low rates is likely because HPV is transmitted through sexual intercourse.

Doctors believe parents don’t want the vaccine for their children parents because they think it will encourage their children to be more promiscuous as they get older knowing they have protection from the vaccine.

Sweetenham said that the vaccine would make people more promiscuous is a misconception.

He said research does not indicate that people with the HPV vaccine behave differently when it comes to sex compared to people without the vaccine.

Even people who have only one sexual partner in their lifetime can get HPV.

“It is quite likely that a person will only have one partner but one doesn’t know who his or her one partner will be or what their story will have been,” Sweetenham said.

Currently, a group called the Intermountain HPV Vaccination Coalition, comprised of researchers and other healthcare professionals, is researching the reasons for resistance to getting the vaccine.

The first does of HPV is recommended at age 11 or 12 for both boys and girls.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is a common virus in the U.S. where about 80 million people are currently infected.

About 14 million people, including teens, become infected with HPV each year, according to the CDC’S website.

The infection goes unnoticed in many people but sometimes the infection can lead to health problems like genital warts.

Sometimes it can lead to more serious cancers including cancers of the cervix, vagina and vulva in women.

In men, it can cause cancers of the penis and in both genders cancers of the anus, back of the throat and tongue.