HPV infection rate on the decline: Nods of gratitude all around

 Holy moly, turns our the HPV vaccine is actually working! In fact, rates of infection are on a greater decline than predicted. And, here's the biggest surprise, teenagers are still having sex. Did I get you with that one? Likely not. That hasn't and probably will not change, but now fewer of those teenagers will suffer from cervical cancer. If you're wondering, its also likely that fewer of them will have unintended pregnancies thanks to their decisions to use birth control.

Here's a nod of gratitude to modern medicine. And a second nod of gratitude to all of those who are unwavering in the fight to protect our health.

The HPV vaccine hit the market while I was in graduate school and in the middle of my feminist awakening. And, coincidentally, I was also becoming a women's health nut. No one had to convince me to get vaccinated. I enthusiastically jumped up on the doctor's table and, like a good southerner, politely requested the vaccine. Thanks to outstanding student health insurance, I also didn't have to go broke to protect myself.

But, of course, there was a backlash wrapped up in this empowering moment of history. Protect your daughters! The HPV vaccine will permit them to have even more sex than they are inevitably going to have when they're teenagers. Blah, blah, blah.

I was already in my 20s, and free as a bird to decide if I wanted the vaccine or not. But, I wasn't exempt from the backlash. I remember being asked why I would get the vaccine even though I was in a monogamous relationship at the time. Wasn't I committed to my partner? What did I have to worry about? Ummm... how about rape? Or the crazy possibility that this relationship, like many relationships we have when we are 20-something, might result in a break-up?

Turns out it didn't. My 30-something self is still completely in love with the partner my 20-something self chose. But I think he would also admit that we didn't know at the time that would definitely happen. And we certainly don't know the fate of our (right now imaginary) children's futures. We can only hope that we will have the privilege to supply the tools they need to manage whatever life throws at them. Those tools come in many forms, such as love and support, access to education, knowing how to advocate for themselves, and the power to protect their health and bodies. 

A third nod of gratitude to all the parents who gave their children the HPV vaccine tool.