Letter to the Editor as Published in the Daily Gazette, 12/01/2023
To prevent cancer, get the HPV vaccine
In this season of gratitude, we can be thankful for the HPV vaccine. This vaccine prevents cancer.
The HPV virus is a common virus that infects teens and adults. Three out of 10 adolescents in New York state are not getting the vaccine as recommended.
The HPV vaccine can help prevent cancer in both boys and girls. Research shows the HPV vaccine can prevent more than 90% of HPV-related cancers when given at the recommended ages. The HPV vaccine has a reassuring safety record that is backed by over 15 years of monitoring and research.
The state Department of Health supports HPV vaccination to begin at age 9, to better protect preteens, teens and adults from serious health problems that HPV can cause, later in life, including cancer.
Studies show the vaccine produces a stronger immune response in preteen and young teens compared to older teens and young adults but can be given up to age 26.
The HPV vaccine is safe, effective, long-lasting cancer prevention. Start the HPV vaccination series today and help protect your child against cancer.
Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) works to increase HPV vaccination rates by educating our communities and dispel myths about the HPV vaccine. To learn more about the HPV vaccine and CPiA, visit our Facebook page, Take Action Against Cancer, our website www.takeactionagainstcancer.com or call 518-770-6815.
Preventing cancer is better than treating it.
Victoria Pickett
Amsterdam
The writer is a community health educator at Cancer Prevention in Action of Fulton, Montgomery & Schenectady Counties.