Are you suggesting you’re going to be having multiple partners while in that relationship? If so then sure it might be a benefit (assuming neither was already infected) though having her get the shot would still be a good idea even if you had already received it.
Anyway, at 45+ we are talking something in the range of 10’s of million dollars per cancer case prevented depending on assumptions. That doesn’t mean it’s a terrible idea, just that there’s probably somewhere more productive to do with those resources.
Who’s to say? Maybe I’m a swinger? Maybe I’m divorced? Maybe I’m dating a few people? Maybe that relationship will run its course?
HPV isn’t an STD that condoms address from a risk mitigation perspective. If I’m an adult and identify a risk to my doctor, why shouldn’t a cheap safe and reliable preventative measure not be accessible?
It’s a bizarre proposition to be tabulating the potential future value in this conversation. I can casually ask my doctor for a cialis prescription, which has a similar cost and it will be covered, no problem. If i have a wart caused by an HPV variant, it will be frozen off for a few hundred bucks, no problem.
I think the reality is that the age ranges were picked because for the purposes of the trial process, it was the most convenient.
> If I’m an adult and identify a risk to my doctor, why shouldn’t a cheap safe and reliable preventative measure not be accessible?
I wouldn’t call it cheap, but it is available unsubsidized. Which makes sense from the perspective of society in terms of cost vs benefits. Your personal income and risk profile may mean spending money on this is worth it to you, but society is just focusing on averages.
You may think it bizarre but consider this logic.
Let’s suppose for the average 12 year old the number works out to 1 million dollars per cancer prevented. But for 60 year olds it’s 100 million dollars prevents a single cancer on average. The difference coming from reduced future partners, prior exposure, and reduced remaining lifespan. (By reduced future partners, I mean most people have partners between the ages of 12 and 60, so a 12 year old is taking those risks plus the risks from partners after 60.)
Now a billionaire may be happy at even 100 million per prevented cancer, but I think the general public would prefer lower premiums/taxes instead. 45 years old isn’t some magic number it’s just somewhere between extremes. Other countries are using much younger ages.
Im not talking about mandatory vaccination - just allowing it to happen.
We don’t apply this logic for most other conditions. I was able to get vaccinated for pneumonia in my 30s because I was a caregiver for my ailing father. It’s not a requirement to get that vaccination, but it made sense given the risk to my father.
So I guess I don’t understand why risk to my 80 year dad was worthy of preventative vaccination, but cancer risk to my current or future partners (or their partners) is not. It’s not cost, as given his health at the time, my dad would be dead in days with pneumonia.
> Im not talking about mandatory vaccination - just allowing it to happen.
It is allowed, however it isn’t subsidized because there is a high cost and minimal benefit. The pneumonia vaccine on the other hand is cheap and has a much larger benefit.
People over 45 are very likely to already infected with one or more strains at which point the vaccine does almost nothing. It’s far better to give that shot to the younger partner in such relationships because they are at risk either way.
Not medically necessary is a statement about cost vs utility.
Many vaccines such as for rabies fall into that category for the general public. Rabies is one of the deadliest diseases on the planet and the vaccine works just fine, but not enough people get infected each year to be worth it without some other risk factor.
PS: That sounded judgmental, I simply meant as a vaccine it doesn’t remove an existing infection. So multiple partners post 45 need to happen before it’s going to make a difference, but people with active sex lives are very likely already infected.
Anyway, at 45+ we are talking something in the range of 10’s of million dollars per cancer case prevented depending on assumptions. That doesn’t mean it’s a terrible idea, just that there’s probably somewhere more productive to do with those resources.