davis sq plan p offering gardasil vaccines
Feb. 2nd, 2007 10:34 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
lyonesse.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squarei really need to write a good essay about this, but here's the quick scoop, since folks are starting to ask.....
. there's no easy test for hpv. the way the test works at all is, you take a pap smear (aka some cells). if they're overtly normal, nobody generally frets. HOWEVER, you can culture the dna in the cells (or presumably penile cells by counterpart) to find the *unexpressed* viral dna in an infected but normally behaving cell. this also allows for viral-subtype analysis.
. regardless, gardasil (a vaccine) protects against 4 of the 20 or so hpv subtypes (6, 11, 16, 18). 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases, and 6 and 11 cause 90% of genital warts cases.
. but even if you haven't been tested, it's unlikely you carry all four of these viruses. so even if you've been sexually active for awhile, or even if you've had genital warts, it may be a good idea to get the vaccine if you don't want to get more warts or to reduce your chance of cervical cancer.
. and if you're not yourself female, you might still not want to get warts, nor to expose your partners to either warts or cancer-causing viruses that you don't already have.
. AND HERE'S THE IMPORTANT BIT: the fda has only really signed off on giving the vaccine to girls 9-12, who presumably have not yet been exposed. they're iffier but signed off for women up to age 26, too.
. BUT IT'S OKAY TO GET THE VACCINE EVEN IF YOU ARE OLDER OR NOT FEMALE. it's a killed-virus vaccine, and the mechanisms are well understood; it is unlikely to pose say a grown man any danger that it doesn't pose a little girl (say swelling at the injection site). IT'S ALSO LEGAL -- it's an "off-label use", but these can be and frequently are used for prescription drugs.
. AND -- the PLAN P DROP-IN CENTER in davis square will gladly give you gardasil, even if you're an old hag like me. they'll try to bill your insurance, though i expect to have quite the fight over this one (and i'll pay cash if it comes to that, i'd rather spend $500 than die of cervical cancer).
SO -- VACCINES AGAINST DEATH "R" GOOD. i would recommend this to anyone who intends or imagines having sexual contact. it's readily available. despite the press, you can get it if you are older (planned parenthood believes that people over 26 have sex, too) and the np i talked to seemed optimistic about the vaccine starting to act as a "barrier" in men between cases passed between heterosexual women.
it weirds me out that there was resistance against vaccinating the young because it "encouraged premature sex" or whatever, but weirder yet is the idea that women over 26 can't make the choice for a vaccine for safer sex. so i'm telling you, you can go off-label if you like. planned parenthood is on your side.
. there's no easy test for hpv. the way the test works at all is, you take a pap smear (aka some cells). if they're overtly normal, nobody generally frets. HOWEVER, you can culture the dna in the cells (or presumably penile cells by counterpart) to find the *unexpressed* viral dna in an infected but normally behaving cell. this also allows for viral-subtype analysis.
. regardless, gardasil (a vaccine) protects against 4 of the 20 or so hpv subtypes (6, 11, 16, 18). 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases, and 6 and 11 cause 90% of genital warts cases.
. but even if you haven't been tested, it's unlikely you carry all four of these viruses. so even if you've been sexually active for awhile, or even if you've had genital warts, it may be a good idea to get the vaccine if you don't want to get more warts or to reduce your chance of cervical cancer.
. and if you're not yourself female, you might still not want to get warts, nor to expose your partners to either warts or cancer-causing viruses that you don't already have.
. AND HERE'S THE IMPORTANT BIT: the fda has only really signed off on giving the vaccine to girls 9-12, who presumably have not yet been exposed. they're iffier but signed off for women up to age 26, too.
. BUT IT'S OKAY TO GET THE VACCINE EVEN IF YOU ARE OLDER OR NOT FEMALE. it's a killed-virus vaccine, and the mechanisms are well understood; it is unlikely to pose say a grown man any danger that it doesn't pose a little girl (say swelling at the injection site). IT'S ALSO LEGAL -- it's an "off-label use", but these can be and frequently are used for prescription drugs.
. AND -- the PLAN P DROP-IN CENTER in davis square will gladly give you gardasil, even if you're an old hag like me. they'll try to bill your insurance, though i expect to have quite the fight over this one (and i'll pay cash if it comes to that, i'd rather spend $500 than die of cervical cancer).
SO -- VACCINES AGAINST DEATH "R" GOOD. i would recommend this to anyone who intends or imagines having sexual contact. it's readily available. despite the press, you can get it if you are older (planned parenthood believes that people over 26 have sex, too) and the np i talked to seemed optimistic about the vaccine starting to act as a "barrier" in men between cases passed between heterosexual women.
it weirds me out that there was resistance against vaccinating the young because it "encouraged premature sex" or whatever, but weirder yet is the idea that women over 26 can't make the choice for a vaccine for safer sex. so i'm telling you, you can go off-label if you like. planned parenthood is on your side.
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