USA: genitori non vaccinano figlie contro HPV per paura
Inviato: lunedì 18 marzo 2013, 15:54
Il panico nei confronti dei vaccini diffuso dal movimento anti-vaccini sta facendo un'altra vittima: il vaccino contro l'HPV (e tutte le ragazzine cui viene negata la possibilità di evitarsi un'infezione da parte di un virus oncogeno).
In un'indagine fatta a livello nazionale negli Stati Uniti nel 2010, è emerso che più del 40% dei genitori ha dichiarato di non voler vaccinare contro l'HPV le proprie figlie adolescenti per la preoccupazione che il vaccino non sia sicuro.
Parental Fear Deters HPV Vax for Teens
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: March 18, 2013
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Parents increasingly say they are worried about the safety of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and don't intend to vaccinate their teen daughters, researchers reported.
In an analysis of national survey data, more than 40% of parents reported in 2010 that they did not intend to vaccinate their adolescent female children with the HPV vaccine, according to Paul Darden, MD, of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, and colleagues.
At the same time, doctors are increasingly recommending the vaccine, the authors wrote in the April issue of Pediatrics.
But there is no similar pattern for two other vaccines aimed at adolescents, Darden and colleagues reported.
They used data from the National Immunization Survey of Teens from 2008 through 2010 in an effort to understand why some teens are not up to date on vaccinations.
The findings suggest there may be a "need for interventions beyond clinician recommendation," the researchers concluded, including such things as social marketing campaigns.
But William Schaffner, MD, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, said other reports have found hints of "provider hesitancy" that might still be playing a role.
In some cases, he told MedPage Today, doctors might be delaying discussions with parents until later in the teen years.
"Pediatricians are letting it go in the early teens years and bringing it up only later," he said. "Then we're missing some teens because they tend not to see the doctor as frequently in the late teens as they do around 11, 12, and 13."
"Pediatricians really do need to continue to be vaccine advocates," he added.
In the survey, parents who said their teens were not vaccinated for tetanus toxoid, diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis/tetanus toxoid and reduced diphtheria toxoid (Tdap/Td) and quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) were asked for their reasons.
Parents who said their daughters had not had the complete HPV vaccine series were asked if they intended to get them vaccinated; if they said no, they were asked for reasons.
For Tdap/Td and MCV4, the most frequent reasons for not vaccinating were the same -- "not recommended" by the doctor and "not needed or not necessary."
For HPV, the most frequent reasons included those same reasons but also showed an increasing concern for safety.
The proportion of parents who replied they were worried about "safety concerns/side effects" rose from 4.5% in 2008 to 7.7% in 2009 to 16.4% in 2010.
In the last year, worry about safety and side effects approached the level of the most common reason -- "not needed or not necessary" -- at 17.4%.
Parents reported that their doctors increasingly recommended all vaccines, including the HPV medication, rising from 46.8% in 2008 to 52.4% in 2010.
Despite that, the intent to skip the HPV shots rose from 39.8% in 2008 to 43.9% in 2010, Darden and colleagues found.
The study had some limitations. The cross-sectional survey compared three distinct cohorts across multiple years, and the authors focused their analyses on the parent survey and parental reporting without verifying vaccination status through the provider survey.
The study had support from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Darden reported financial links with Pfizer. Co-author Robert Jacobson, MD, reported financial links with Pfizer, Novartis, and Merck.
Other co-authors reported no conflicts of interest.
Source reference:
Darden PM, et al "Reasons for not vaccinating adolescents: National Immunization Survey of Teens, 2008–2010" Pediatrics 2013; 131: 645–651.
In un'indagine fatta a livello nazionale negli Stati Uniti nel 2010, è emerso che più del 40% dei genitori ha dichiarato di non voler vaccinare contro l'HPV le proprie figlie adolescenti per la preoccupazione che il vaccino non sia sicuro.
Parental Fear Deters HPV Vax for Teens
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: March 18, 2013
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Parents increasingly say they are worried about the safety of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and don't intend to vaccinate their teen daughters, researchers reported.
In an analysis of national survey data, more than 40% of parents reported in 2010 that they did not intend to vaccinate their adolescent female children with the HPV vaccine, according to Paul Darden, MD, of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, and colleagues.
At the same time, doctors are increasingly recommending the vaccine, the authors wrote in the April issue of Pediatrics.
But there is no similar pattern for two other vaccines aimed at adolescents, Darden and colleagues reported.
They used data from the National Immunization Survey of Teens from 2008 through 2010 in an effort to understand why some teens are not up to date on vaccinations.
The findings suggest there may be a "need for interventions beyond clinician recommendation," the researchers concluded, including such things as social marketing campaigns.
But William Schaffner, MD, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, said other reports have found hints of "provider hesitancy" that might still be playing a role.
In some cases, he told MedPage Today, doctors might be delaying discussions with parents until later in the teen years.
"Pediatricians are letting it go in the early teens years and bringing it up only later," he said. "Then we're missing some teens because they tend not to see the doctor as frequently in the late teens as they do around 11, 12, and 13."
"Pediatricians really do need to continue to be vaccine advocates," he added.
In the survey, parents who said their teens were not vaccinated for tetanus toxoid, diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis/tetanus toxoid and reduced diphtheria toxoid (Tdap/Td) and quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) were asked for their reasons.
Parents who said their daughters had not had the complete HPV vaccine series were asked if they intended to get them vaccinated; if they said no, they were asked for reasons.
For Tdap/Td and MCV4, the most frequent reasons for not vaccinating were the same -- "not recommended" by the doctor and "not needed or not necessary."
For HPV, the most frequent reasons included those same reasons but also showed an increasing concern for safety.
The proportion of parents who replied they were worried about "safety concerns/side effects" rose from 4.5% in 2008 to 7.7% in 2009 to 16.4% in 2010.
In the last year, worry about safety and side effects approached the level of the most common reason -- "not needed or not necessary" -- at 17.4%.
Parents reported that their doctors increasingly recommended all vaccines, including the HPV medication, rising from 46.8% in 2008 to 52.4% in 2010.
Despite that, the intent to skip the HPV shots rose from 39.8% in 2008 to 43.9% in 2010, Darden and colleagues found.
The study had some limitations. The cross-sectional survey compared three distinct cohorts across multiple years, and the authors focused their analyses on the parent survey and parental reporting without verifying vaccination status through the provider survey.
The study had support from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Darden reported financial links with Pfizer. Co-author Robert Jacobson, MD, reported financial links with Pfizer, Novartis, and Merck.
Other co-authors reported no conflicts of interest.
Source reference:
Darden PM, et al "Reasons for not vaccinating adolescents: National Immunization Survey of Teens, 2008–2010" Pediatrics 2013; 131: 645–651.