美国国家公共电台 NPR Is 20-Something Too Late For A Guy To Get The HPV Vaccine?

Is 20-Something Too Late For A Guy To Get The HPV Vaccine¹?

play pause stop mute² unmute max volume 00:0003:23repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser³ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

HPV is a sexually⁴ transmitted virus that can cause certain cancers. And for the past decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that teenage girls be vaccinated⁵ against HPV. But it has only been telling boys to get that vaccine for the past few years, which means Jake Harper, a 29-year-old reporter for Side Effects Public Media, never got the shots. And now he's worried.

JAKE HARPER, BYLINE⁶: TV is making me anxious about sex, more anxious than usual.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I was infected with HPV. Maybe my parents didn't know how widespread HPV is.

HARPER: That's an ad from the pharmaceutical⁷ giant Merck, which makes Gardasil, an HPV vaccine. And I'm seeing these ads all the time.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Maybe they didn't know I would end up with cancer because of HPV.

HARPER: I found out about HPV when a college girlfriend got vaccinated. Back then, the CDC only recommended the vaccine for females. It seemed strange to me then because in theory, I could still spread HPV. But with my partner vaccinated, I let it go. I didn't know HPV could cause health problems for men. But it can, mainly in the back of the mouth and throat, the area called the oropharynx.

ERICH STURGIS: There are now more or oropharynx cancers in men in the United States each year than there are cervical cancers in women.

HARPER: Erich Sturgis is a researcher at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He says the number of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers is up. And there's no way to catch it early.

STURGIS: Most people show up with oropharynx cancer because it has spread to a lymph node in the neck. Typically it's a man. While he's shaving, he notices a lump in his neck. That means that it's already a cancer that has spread.

HARPER: HPV also puts men at risk for penile and other cancers. They're rare but still terrifying. So I've been wondering, is it too late for me to be vaccinated? It turns out it's complicated. The younger you are, the better you respond to the vaccine. That's part of the reason the CDC only recommends it for males through age 21 - or up to 26 for some high-risk men. But researchers tell me the vaccine could still help someone who's older if they haven't already been exposed. That's complicated too, says Greg Zimet at the Center for HPV Research in Indianapolis.

GREG ZIMET: There's a very good likelihood⁸ that someone who's having sex is going to be infected. I think the figures are typically about 80 percent.

HARPER: Eighty percent of sexually active people will be exposed at some point. But most infections go away on their own. And there are many kinds of HPV.

ZMIET: There's several dozen types of HPV that infect the genital region.

HARPER: Only some of those cause problems like cancer and genital warts⁹, which is another thing I'd rather not get. And Gardasil protects against nine of the most problematic HPV types. So let's say, you know, hypothetically, you're kind of shy and haven't had that many partners.

JOHN SCHILLER: The chances that you've been exposed to all nine types are actually vanishingly small.

HARPER: That's John Schiller with the National Cancer Institute. He says the vaccine might not be a bad idea because it could still protect against the types I haven't been exposed to.

SCHILLER: You're past the age of where your health insurance is going to pay for it. It's just whether you want to use it on this or you want to use it going out to dinner for a few times. It's a personal decision.

HARPER: So I got the vaccine. It costs $130. And I still have to get another shot. But for me, it was worth the tradeoff. For NPR News, I'm Jake Harper.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GREENE: The two stories you just heard came to us as part of a partnership¹⁰ with NPR local member stations and Kaiser Health News.

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 mute   

n.哑子，默音字母，弱音器；adj.哑的，无声的，沉默的；vt.减音，减弱；vi.（鸟）排泄

参考例句：

• He is mute on the subject of social system.他对社会制度的问题保持沉默。
• Her daughter was mute after a serious illness.她的女儿在一场重病之后失去了说话能力。

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 sexually   

adv.性别上地；按性别地；性欲地；两性之间地

参考例句：

• to be sexually promiscuous 性生活淫乱
• I was depressed,withdrawn and sexually frigid. 我郁郁寡欢，离群索居，没有什么性要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

8 likelihood   

n.可能，可能性

参考例句：

• We must try our best to reduce the likelihood of war.我们必须尽最大努力减少战争的可能性。
• I don't think there is any likelihood of his agreeing to it.我认为不会有他同意那件事情的可能。

9 warts   

n.疣( wart的名词复数 )；肉赘；树瘤；缺点

参考例句：

• You agreed to marry me, warts and all! 是你同意和我结婚的，我又没掩饰缺陷。 来自辞典例句
• Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk-water such a blame fool way as that! 用那样糊涂蛋的方法还谈什么仙水治疣子！ 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。