Mothers are less likely to have their daughters under age 13 receive the new vaccine against human papillomavirus, even though doctors recommend it for girls at 11 or 12 years old, according to a national study from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Over 85% of the 10,521 mothers in the study thought the vaccine was a good idea for 16- to 17-year-old girls, but only 48% intended to have their 9- to 12-year-olds vaccinated.

The vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

This study was presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.

Labels: girls, sexually_transmitted_diseases, vaccine