(Radio Iowa) – While the H-P-V vaccine is often marketed in Iowa toward women, a health care professional says it’s important that young people of -both- sexes get inoculated against the potentially-deadly virus. Dr. Ben Parsons, a hematologist-oncologist at Gundersen Health, says human papillomavirus is an equal opportunity threat.

“HPV is a virus that affects all humans, and it’s actually relatively ubiquitous. Lots and lots of people are exposed to it,” Parsons says. “Men and women are at risk for contracting HPV, and the vaccine is exceedingly effective at preventing the most harmful strains of HPV, which are very much carcinogenic.” A state report shows the H-P-V vaccination rate among adolescent Iowans in 2022 was at 57-percent, though the rate fell below 30-percent in parts of southeast and eastern Iowa.

Health officials recommend the vaccine for those between the ages of 11 and 13. That’s before they’d typically become sexually active. “When it came out in 2006, a focus was on preventing genital warts and cervical cancer, and really, both men and women benefit from this,” Parsons says. “When you think about, how do you limit an infection in our society? It takes everyone. It takes a high level of herd immunity to prevent these things from really becoming as big of a problem as they are.” Parsons says getting vaccinated can help to protect you from all sorts of cancers, including head and neck cancer.

“You can imagine the sensitive areas of your tongue and your cheek, and the treatments for people who develop those cancers are really quite rigorous, including removal of those very, very sensitive organs, or treatment with radiation that can be damaging,” Parsons says. “While those oftentimes lead to cures, it’s still a road that we would much rather prevent than have to travel.”

Parsons says his 13-year-old son has already received the vaccine, adding, it’s for his son’s best interest and for the community. Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.