by Belinda Gardner
belindag@isb.ac.th
On Monday the High School was given a very special opportunity to hear Professor Harald zur Hausen, a 2008 Nobel Laureate for Medicine, speak and answer questions. He shared his inspirational journey of identifying the link between the HPV (human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease) and cancer. Subsequently a vaccine has been developed and is now available to protect people against certain strands of HPV.
Since Professor zur Hausen’s presentation there have been many discussions concerning the vaccine and, hence, I am sharing some recent recommendations from the US, please see the attachment. The vaccine produces the best antibody response between the ages 9 and 15 and generally involves a series of 3 shots administered at intervals of 0, 2 and 6 months.
There are two vaccines available, Gardasil and Cervarix, which offer slightly different protection. I encourage you to read the information in the attachment and do your own research to decide if this is something you want your child to have.
The vaccines are available in Thailand.