Human papillomavirus vaccine not getting to enough women
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is actually a family of viruses that cause everything from common skin warts to genital warts, and then certain strains of it actually can lead to cervical cancer. HPV vaccines were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006. Although the new vaccine reduces the risk of a person developing the disease, more women are turning down the three-dose vaccine.
Researchers at the University of Baltimore medical center surveyed 10,000 women between the ages of 9 and 26 to find out which women were getting the HPV vaccine. Of those eligible to get the vaccine, only 27% chose to do so.
Other variants of the HPV virus can cause the common wart on a person’s skin to genital herpes. Early detection was once the most effective weapon against the disease. Doctors had problems getting women in resource-poor areas to undergo the procedure.
Even women who decided to take the vaccine were not fully protected. Only one-third of the women who got the vaccine went through the full treatment. Unless the recipient receives the full dosage, the protection she receives is inadequate to protect her.
There are two HPV vaccines are sold in the U.S.. Gardasil, approved in 2006 for girls aged 9 and up, protects against four types of HPV, two of which cause approximately 70% of cervical cancers globably.
Cervarix, which covers the two strains of the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer, was approved in 2009.
For men, the potential consequences of infection by HPV can be just as dangerous, like genital warts, and even life-threatening, as penile and anal cancers. However these complications are generlly very rare. For the average guy, the virus lies silent, doesn’t cause problems, and clears in a year or two.
From the start, arguments about whether to inoculate males against HPV have centered mainly on the benefits for women — and the desire to stop men from transmitting the most common sexually spread infection.
Using technology, such as using cell phone short messaging services or SMS, it could awareness and increase the rate of vaccination. Pilot versions of the program have already been implemented. The program involve sending a daily message for a week to participant’s phone to get the word out about the benefits of the HPV vaccine. 
Please include the information that HPV also causes some types of oral (throat) cancer and this type of cancer is more common in men than in women. See the Oral Cancer Foundation website for this information.