Study Finds No STI Boost after HPV Vaccine

Getting a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) does not make teenage girls more likely to get other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a study finds. This vaccine helps prevent HPV strains that cause genital warts and cervical cancer. It is given to girls and boys as young as age 9. But vaccination rates remain low. Some parents worry that getting a vaccine against an STI might encourage teens to have sex. Researchers wanted to see if evidence supports that belief. The study used insurance data from 2005 through 2010. It included 21,610 females, ages 12 through 18, who had received the vaccine. They were compared with 186,501 otherwise similar females who had not been vaccinated. Those who got the HPV vaccine were more likely to have STIs in the year before and the year after getting the vaccine than those who did not get vaccinated.