A Vaccine Protects Those Who Skip It

Other experts in infectious diseases agreed that the study demonstrates how important it is to get vaccinated.

"I think it is important to point out to potential vaccine recipients that herd immunity is routinely achieved when greater than 80 percent of the population has been vaccinated," said Robert Rose, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. "Thus, it is incumbent upon immune-competent individuals to participate in the vaccine effort in order to protect those who are in one way or another immune-compromised."

HPV is responsible for the most common sexually transmitted infections. There are more than 100 types of HPV, including more than 40 high-risk types of infection that are responsible for causing approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers, genital warts, vaginal and anal cancers and a growing number of head and neck cancers, especially in men.

Since these viruses have the ability to cause such widespread disease, current recommendations from the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices include vaccination against HPV for both males and females ages 9 to 26.

"Substantially decreasing the incidence of this disease by using a preventive vaccine is so exciting, especially when approximately 20 percent of human cancers are caused by an infection," said Dr. Connie Trimble, an OB/Gyn and HPV researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.

Despite the growing body of research supporting HPV vaccination, however, HPV vaccination rates among young people remain low. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates were only around 49 percent for the first out of three required doses. Additionally, while the current HPV vaccine shows effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of the four most high-risk types of infection in Kahn's study, other types of HPV remain prevalent.

Dr. James Turner, member of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Committee at the University of Virginia, said there remains a need to continue to improve and change the vaccine in a way that acts against the types of the virus that remain prevalent in the community.

"I believe manufacturers are in Phase II studies of developing new vaccines that cover up to nine

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