Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) does not promote sexual activity among young girls who receive it, as some have claimed, a study in Pediatrics concludes.1

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente, a large managed healthcare organization, and Emory University, both in Atlanta, Georgia, reviewed clinical markers of increased sexual activity—such as pregnancy, diagnosis of or testing for sexually transmitted infections, and contraceptive counseling—during the three years after girls were vaccinated against HPV. The study looked at 1398 girls aged 11-12 years between July 2006 and December 2007 and followed them up to December 2010.

Of the girls, 493 received the vaccine and 905 did not. Clinical markers of sexual activity were no more …