Immunization seems like a no-brainer. It requires just a simple needle prick and, like magic, the chances of contracting a harmful disease do a nearly flawless vanishing act. But in reality, the issue of immunization is not that simple.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 40 types of the sexually transmitted infection Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and it can be hard to detect. Many doctors recommend a HPV vaccination, which is administered to women and men between the ages of 9 and 26, to prevent the disease. Vaccination in this age range currently guarantees 100 percent protection.

Although it is widely advertised in the media, many people are not getting immunized to protect themselves from HPV symptoms.

“A lot of people in our American culture are supposed to be ‘inactive recipients of sexual education’ in that we get it from the media, television, music videos and the internet,” said Lena Hann, the visiting clinical instructor and masters of Public Health Program advisor for the University.

Hann believes that the popular media portrays an unrealistic depiction of what proper sexual education is.

“Somehow we are supposed to absorb ‘normal sexual behaviors,’ but in real life, a person feels they are doing something wrong or that they are dirty for trying to seek sexual health information,” she said.

Despite common misconceptions, HPV vaccines, such as Gardisil®, campaign for both male and female immunization, highlighting the fact that HPV is not a gender specific issue.

“Young women aren’t giving themselves HPV. Public awareness isn’t being spread to both carriers and recipients of the virus. This college age group, late teens to early 20s, have the highest rate of HPV,” said Hann. “Unless they are abstaining from all sexual activity, there is no guarantee that they won’t contract the virus. As many as half of sexually active people will have HPV (in their lifetime).”

As staggering as these numbers are, an abundant amount of resources are present on campus for students and faculty. McKinley Health Center offers the vaccine at a standard rate of $120. This rate will vary, however, according to an individual’s health insurance.

“It is imperative to address not only risk and prevention methods but also social, cultural and financial barriers that people might have to protecting themselves in the way that they might want to,” Hann said.

In her CHLH 206: Human Sexuality course, Hann’s students look at the risk for diseases as well as prevention methods through different lenses.

Regardless of students’ own decisions, Hann encourages them to “consider different viewpoints without judgment.”

Imran Kazmi, sophomore in AHS, said that when it comes to being vaccinated for certain diseases, students’ chief concern is confidentiality.

“Public health policy shouldn’t be discriminatory. As community health students, we want to promote health awareness and engage in healthy lifestyles,” Kazmi said.

Kazmi also recognizes that many of his peers, particularly among the male population, are unaware the severity of HPV.

“The main goal of public health is to prevent the onset and spread of disease,” he said. “Campus and McKinley should work to inform students, both male and female, about how STI’s can affect both (genders).”

Kazmi, like Hann, said that the media plays a monumental role in the information today’s culture receives about sexual health and proper precautions.

“Proper health protocol is often ignored, and people acquire misinformed messages. This creates false perceptions of what public health is and consists of,” he said.

Like all sexually transmitted infections, HPV can be prevented through proper education and awareness of available treatment and preventative methods. Young adults are encouraged to take control of their health by seeking out the educational and medical resources available to them and not allowing the media, myths and misconceptions to cloud their judgment.