A shot to prevent cancer
The planning committee for the HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast gathered at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Members include representatives of St. Jude, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, the American Cancer Society. (Courtesy St. Jude Children's Research Hospital)
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is world renowned for fighting childhood cancers, but the hospital is also working to vaccinate children against a virus capable of causing a host of cancers in adulthood.
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection, does not require an exchange of body fluids and can be spread through skin-to-skin contact.
About 80 million Americans are infected, and about 85% of people will get an HPV infection in their lifetime. But since the majority of HPV infections are asymptomatic, most people are unaware they’re infected.
Most HPV infections resolve spontaneously, but persistent infections can develop into cancers in both men and women.
The virus is linked to six types of cancers: cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, penile and oropharyngeal.
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St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program Heather Brandt Dr. Jason Yaun Dr. Michelle Taylor vaccine Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
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