Excerpt
JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): Five years ago, health officials first recommended the HPV vaccine be given to girls and young women to protect against the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that's a major cause of cervical cancer.
It's been available to boys for the past two years to guard against other medical problems associated with sexual activity. But, today, for the first time, a federal advisory panel said that boys age 11 or 12 should routinely get the vaccine.
We get an explanation and update from Rob Stein, health and science reporter for The Washington Post.
Welcome back.
ROB STEIN, The Washington Post: Hi. Nice to be here.
JEFFREY BROWN: Now, why is the committee saying it's time to turn from a suggestion into a recommendation?
ROB STEIN: Yes.
Well, the vaccine was approved in 2009 for boys. And at that point, they didn't recommend that it become part of the routine vaccinations that all boys get as part of going in for their well baby visits or their childhood visits. But in the last few years, there's been enough data that has accumulated where the committee now feels like it makes sense to recommend that, like girls, all boys that are 11 and 12 get -- routinely get the vaccine.
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