Vaccine doesn’t  lead to promiscuity

However, even though the vaccine has been successful from a health standpoint, many parents fear that vaccinating young girls against an STD will encourage them to be sexual, or that the vaccination will be viewed as permission to engage in sexual activity.

Fortunately, a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has found otherwise. The study followed girls and young women (from the ages of 13-21) after they received the vaccine, and they compared their sexual behavior to that of girls and women who didn’t receive the vaccine. Not only did they find that there was no higher rate of promiscuity among the vaccinated individuals, but they also found that these young women still rated safer sex as a high priority.

In fact, girls who discussed the vaccination and its purposes with their mothers (as opposed to just their teachers) were more likely to rate safer sex as a priority.

You can still couch the vaccination within your own beliefs, such as, “I don’t want you having sex until you are married (or until you are in a committed relationship, or until you are older), but I still want you to be protected and safe.” And, for younger kids, the vaccination doesn’t have to be explained in too much detail.

Whether you choose to vaccinate your child or not, we can all use Gardasil as a teachable moment. Talking about sex needs to be a recurring conversation with our kids, and that means giving information as well as answering questions and listening with an open mind.