Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States and the world, and it is the sole cause of cervical cancer. The CDC’s 2006 recommendation that all girls should be vaccinated against HPV at age eleven or twelve led to widely reported concerns that the vaccine itself would encourage teenagers to become sexually active. A 2012 study published in Pediatrics, “Sexual Activity-Related Outcomes after Human Papillomavirus Vaccination of 11- to 12-Year-Olds,” found that promiscuity was not one of the side effects of the vaccine. Page 16
