Why aren't more girls getting the HPV vaccine?(human papillomavirus)

Byline: Ruby L. Bailey

DETROIT _ Perhaps concerned about cost, long-term effects or moral issues, fewer girls and young women than expected are requesting a vaccine that can prevent strains of a virus that causes cervical cancer, local physicians and others said.

The vaccine, called Gardasil, on the market for nearly a year, protects against two strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that are responsible for about 70 percent of all cervical cancers. It also protects against two other HPV strains that cause about 90 percent of cases of genital warts.

Parents have debated the message sent by vaccinating girls as young as 9 against a sexually transmitted disease, and some may remain skittish, said Dr. Ronald Strickler, chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

But over time, Strickler said he believes demand for the vaccine will pick up as more parents realize the risks to their daughters of contracting HPV.

"Your daughter may be a virgin when she goes on her honeymoon, but unless her husband was pristine, he…