HPV Vaccine: The Myths…and the Facts

Presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann recently made the unsubstantiated comment on national TV that the HPV vaccine has “very serious consequences” and that it can cause mental retardation. Do such statements have an impact on the lay public? How would you address the issue with your patients?

Here to address that clinical implications of this issue is pediatric nurse practitioner, Patsy Stinchfield, RN, MS, CPNP, who is Director of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Ms Stinchfield has provided the following list of web sites that she recommends as excellent sources of information about vaccines.

www.napnap.org
www.aap.org
www.immunize.org
www.childrensmn.org
http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/home.html
www.vaccines.gov
http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/vaccine/Default.aspx
http://www.ecbt.org/
www.pkids.org
www.ana.org
www.pharmacist.com
www.naccho.org
www.astho.org