True or false? Gardasil, the vaccine that protects people from certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), is only for females and is ineffective in males.

False! While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that 11-and 12-year-old girls get the Gardasil vaccination, males should think about taking it too! The New England Journal of Medicine just published a study funded by Merck—the maker of Gardasil—on the effectiveness of the drug in males. The study found that Gardasil was 90-percent effective at preventing genital warts and 86-percent effective at preventing persistent HPV infections. Gardasil was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for males in 2009, but hasn’t been strongly encouraged for them.

The CDC estimates that 20 million Americans are infected with HPV. The virus usually has no symptoms, so it often goes unnoticed in the carrier. HPV usually clears the body on its own and is totally harmless. But some strains, like those the Gardasil vaccine protects against, can cause cervical, penile, anal, vaginal and vulvar cancer.

Just last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics included Gardasil in their list of recommended vaccines for boys. Guys are a vital part in stopping the spread of HPV. If guys are vaccinated, then that means fewer guys will pass the strains of the virus linked to cancer to their partners.

—Colleen Tierney, 17, Staff Writer

You’ve seen writing on a bathroom wall that says things, like “Jenny and Jesse together forever.” But how often do you see writing that gets you thinking about something serious, like a sexually transmitted disease (STD)?

Well, a few weeks ago, I went to a concert at PNC Bank Arts Center only to find that the girls’ bathroom had posters on the stalls with facts about human papillomavirus (HPV). Some strains of HPV can cause genital warts and others are linked to an increased risk of cervical cancer. It was really great to see information about HPV. I read some of the HPV facts and then chose my bathroom stall. On the inside of the stall, there was another, smaller poster with a tip about HPV that read, “Condoms may not fully protect against HPV.” After seeing that, I then noticed the little conversation going on about the poster. Someone had written, “Suck d**k!! It’s safer!!” and then another person wrote “Not really—what about HIV?”

The conversation on the bathroom wall got me thinking, so when I got home I did some research about HPV and condoms. I found out that viruses, such as HPV or herpes, can be spread through skin-to-skin contact. That means that areas that aren’t covered by a condom during sex can leave you at risk. Also, when a condom is used correctly, it can protect you from getting HIV, which is not spread from skin-to-skin contact. In essence, using a condom does reduce your chances of getting infections, so you should always be safe and use one.

So, the next time you are thinking about writing something on a bathroom wall, make sure you know what you’re talking about, especially when it comes to important topics like STDs.

—Colleen Tierney, 17, Staff Writer