HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, or STI, in America according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. HPV can cause cervical cancer, which can result in genital warts or spread cancer to other parts of the body.

Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, recently claimed the HPV vaccine was a “very dangerous drug” and linked it to mental retardation.

This mistrust of vaccinations stems from the studies of a single doctor — Andrew Wakefield, who modernized anti-vaccine rhetoric by claiming the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella caused autism.

The “relationship” between mental retardation and vaccinations — not only the HPV vaccination, but vaccinations as a whole — has been disproven by the CDC. In 2010, Wakefield was stripped of his medical license by the General Medicine Council of the United Kingdom for the dishonest and irresponsible way he formulated his studies.

The HPV vaccine is safe, and students should believe the word of the collective efforts of the CDC over the word of a single doctor and a politician who listens to him.

HPV is a very real danger for sexually active individuals. According to a 2007 study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 44 percent of females between 20 and 24 years old have HPV. Even if they trust their partner, students don’t always know who their partner has been with previously.

Because HPV is so widespread, students also should get the vaccine in order to protect themselves, in addition to their sexual partners.

Some oppose the HPV vaccine because of a perception that it promotes sex. Getting vaccinated does not necessarily encourage anyone to have sex, just like the flu shot doesn’t spur individuals to go out and catch the flu.

The vaccination only prevents HPV and therefore cervical cancer. Much like distributing condoms, getting vaccinated is not about empowering students to make poor decisions. The HPV vaccine does not prevent other negative consequences of early sex, such as other STIs or pregnancies. Vaccinations ultimately are meant to mitigate the negative results of poor decisions students might or might not make. If students feel ready to be sexually active, that is their individual decision, not the work of medicine.

Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, is available on campus at Olin Health Center. The vaccine can save lives and offers peace of mind for sexually active students.

Students should not let junk science or anyone’s perception fool them into receiving or transmitting an entirely preventable disease.