Syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia: Most of the time they’re just the butt of our jokes. But at some point in our lives, most of us will contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Starting in fifth grade with the required Family Life and Sexual Health unit (which goes by the appropriate acronym of FLASH) and all the way through health class in tenth grade, we’ve been taught how to prevent STDs and properly use contraception. It’s been drilled into our heads that condoms are the only type of contraception that can prevent STDs, and even those are not 100% effective.

A new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, however, developed by the aunt of Garfield junior Dylan and alumna Tessa Koutsky and senior Charlotte White, is changing how we can prevent certain STDs. HPV causes genital warts and most types of cervical cancer, which, according to the American Cancer Society, is the second most common type of cancer in women after breast cancer, killing about 4,000 women each year. According to one of Dr. Laura Koutsky’s studies, teenaged girls have a 60% chance of being infected with HPV within three years of first becoming sexually active. The development of a cancer-preventing vaccine is a breakthrough in STD prevention and most girls and their parents are excited about eliminating the risk of a serious disease like cervical cancer.

“It’s just so cool and empowering to know that I can’t get this awful type of cancer now,” said junior Lauren Davidson, who has had the first shot in the three shot series.

Not everyone is thrilled about the idea of a vaccine that prevents STDs, though. When senior Noelle Jung told her mom about this groundbreaking new vaccine she’d heard about, her mother was less than enthusiastic.

“My mom says there’s no point in getting it because she wants me to wait to have sex until marriage,” said Jung. “She thinks it gives girls a license to be freer with their bodies because it gives them a false sense of safety. She just doesn’t want me to feel like I can be less cautious because I’m protected from one disease.”

And her mom is certainly not alone. Many parents and opponents to the vaccine argue that it will encourage girls to have sex because it will make them feel invulnerable. In reality, though, it only prevents several of many STDs.

Lawmakers in many states are attempting to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for schoolgirls. The vaccine is meant to be given to girls before they become sexually active, ideally at the age of twelve. In Washington, the cost of the shot series is covered by the State to encourage parents to get their daughters vaccinated. Marketed under the name Gardasil, television commercials promote being “one less” woman to get cervical cancer. And who wouldn’t want to be one less?

When asked if they’d gotten the shots yet, most Garfield girls I talked to responded that they were planning on it but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Some expressed concerns that they had heard the shots were more painful than other vaccinations and caused sore muscles. While people respond to shots differently, Davidson assured me that “it didn’t hurt more than other shots; it was just numb for a little bit.” Realistically, the possibility of a small amount of temporary pain should not stop girls from getting vaccinated. High school girls cannot afford to wait much longer, as girls are supposed to get the three shots before they turn 18 or first have sex.

“I was the first one to get the vaccine at my family doctor’s office, so it was kind of a big deal,” said recent Garfield graduate Tessa Koutsky. “I view it more as a precautionary thing than something that will encourage unprotected sex. Why not get it?”

According to Tessa’s aunt Dr. Laura Koutsky, who has done extensive research about HPV since the 1980s, the human papillomavirus has been found underneath the fingernails of young men and can be transmitted in a completely nonsexual way. And even if a woman abstains from sex until marriage, there is a chance she will contract HPV from her husband.

For some of us, our parents are stopping us from getting the vaccine. For others, it’s a fear of pain. For others still it is simply one more thing to procrastinate on and leave to be done later. But if you and your parents decide that Gardasil is right for you, don’t dawdle, because the unique chance of preventing cancer will be gone soon. I know I plan on becoming one less.