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Experts worry BC’s free HPV program discriminates

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Making the HPV vaccine available to more kids for free in our province may be positive, but some academics are concerned it could also have some negative impacts.

It puts unnecessary pressure on younger boys to come out as gay in order to get the vaccine says psychology doctoral student at McGill University Gilla Shapiro.

She says there is concern boys put in the “at-risk” category will internalize stigma. “We’re concerned about bullying at school, and I know that a lot of education policy is trying to make bullying for LGBT youth a priority.”

Shapiro also points out many boys won’t identify as gay or bisexual until they’re in their 20s or 30s, and by then, they’ll have missed out on the full health benefits of the vaccine. “We think that the BC Government’s policy puts a huge demand on younger boys to come out as gay when they are eleven years old, to their parents, to their teachers, and this is undue pressure.”

The shot becomes available at no cost to “at-risk” boys in September. The vaccine is available free to all girls born in or after 1994.

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