By Patrick Baron
PONTIAC – Medical professionals at OSF HealthCare are discussing the importance of people getting Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccinations.
Dr. Jared Zotz and Nurse Practitioner Amber Jones discussed the HPV infection with WJEZ’s Todd Wineburner. Zotz stressed the importance of women being vaccinated for HPV, as the infection can be a source of cancer down the road.
“HPV accounts for greater than 90 percent of all cervical cancers. If we can prevent HPV from infecting a woman, we should be able to prevent that many more cases of cervical cancer later in life,” said Zotz.
Jones explained HPV isn’t specific to women – men can get the infection as well. She said while people are recommended to get vaccinated for HPV at a young age, there are options if they don’t receive the vaccination until they are young adults.
“It’s really recommended for both boys and girls. Age 11-12 is the recommended age, though they can start as young as nine,” Jones said. “Girls can get it through age 26 while for males they recommend through age 21. There’s different catch-up schedules if they didn’t start right at that age.”
Zotz said since the vaccine was introduced about 12 years ago, he has seen a steady decline in the number of HPV cases.
Patrick Baron can be reached at patrick.baron@cumulus.com.
