Misconceptions can cause harm

To the editor:

Regarding the Aug. 9 article 'Groups push to improve HPV vaccination rates”:

I had the opportunity a few years back, as a registered nurse, to speak to hundreds of teens at area schools about various sexually transmitted diseases. When I would discuss the HPV vaccine, I discovered that some teens had misconceptions about how it actually worked. Some thought it would protect them from all STDs or that it would prevent them from ever getting any type of cancer.

In Cedar Rapids there are billboards that state, 'You can prevent cancer. HPV vaccine is the key.” There are also bus wraps that proclaim, 'Give your child a cancer-free happily ever-after. HPV vaccine.” I can see how these brief messages might possibly lead those uninformed to come to the same false conclusions as the teens in the classroom had. The county is providing education about the vaccine to cut down on myths, such as 'that it is unsafe or promotes sex.” Hopefully, they also will emphasize and clarify to the recipients of the HPV vaccine specifically what it protects against and what it does not. Accurate information is necessary for wise decision making and misconceptions can cause harm.

Rachel Ann Aalbers

Mount Vernon