The case for a gender-neutral (universal) human papillomavirus vaccination policy in the United States: Point

HPV infection is common in men and is readily transmitted, influencing disease rates in both males and females. Should the HPV vaccine show efficacy in males, vaccination strategies that include both sexes may be more cost-effective in reducing HPV female disease burden than gender-targeted strategies. The efficacy of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine to reduce infection and lesions caused by HPV is being tested among young men internationally. Vaccination of males may become inevitable if and when vaccination of females fails to adequately control disease because of suboptimal vaccine uptake. From a disease transmission perspective, female-only vaccination may work well for controlling cervical cancer, but the realities on the ground may force us to consider other strategies such as vaccinating males.