ATLANTA (AP) - More than 22 million doses of swine flu vaccine are available now, and most Americans should soon find it easier to get their dose, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.

"We're beginning to get to significant increases in the availability," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a briefing.

Last week there were just 14 million doses on hand, despite initial predictions that as many as 120 million would be ready by mid-October. The government later slashed that estimate to 45 million. The slow supply trickle has frustrated Americans, who have stood in line for hours in some parts of the country.

The shortage has probably increased demand, Frieden said.

"It's quite likely that too little vaccine is one of the things that's making people more interested in getting vaccinated, frankly. When we have shortages, we see an increase in demand," he said.

The vaccine is grown in eggs in a reliable but slow process, and smaller amounts of it were being produced per egg than expected. There were other snags, too, but health officials say manufacturers have overcome most of those and are making the vaccine more speedily.

Over time, the government expects to have as many as 225 million doses of the new vaccine if needed.

CDC officials estimate that the swine flu virus, first identified in April, has killed at least 1,000 Americans and caused at least mild illness in many millions of others.

The pandemic started in a frightening burst of cases in certain parts of the country, including New York, Boston and parts of the Southwest. Illnesses diminished somewhat in the summer and then began increasing across the country as schools reopened roughly two months ago.

Swine flu cases are waning in Georgia and some parts of the country lately, but still increasing in others. Health officials say it's hard to predict what will happen in the next few months.

The secret to a healthy retirement may be work.

A new government study out Friday finds that retirees who continue to work in some capacity, even part-time, are less likely to experience physical decline and disease.

Authors of the study say working provides financial resources, social interaction and the ability to learn new skills.

Working can also be good for self-esteem. The study isn't the first to show that structured activity improves the lives of retired people.

ATLANTA (AP) - The largest U.S. analysis of hospitalized adult swine flu patients has found almost half were healthy people who did not have asthma or any other chronic illnesses before they got sick.

Health officials released the surprising results at a news conference on Tuesday, noting that 46 percent of 1,400 hospitalized adults did not have a chronic underlying condition.

They have said before that the majority of swine flu patients who develop severe illness have some sort of pre-existing condition, but the new data suggest the majority may be slimmer than was previously thought.

A study of 272 hospitalized swine flu patients, released by the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month, concluded that 83 percent of adults and 60 percent of children had underlying conditions.

However, health officials cautioned that the new analysis is preliminary and did not count obesity as an underlying condition. Earlier research has suggested obesity could be a separate risk factor for severe swine flu illness. Further analysis that counts obesity could change the results, said a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC looked at 1,400 adults and more than 500 children with swine flu who were hospitalized in 10 states at medical centers participating in a special disease surveillance network. The hospitalizations occurred from April through the end of August.

Looking at a larger number of hospitalizations was important because "we wanted to make sure that we weren't missing some important underlying conditions that we hadn't talked about earlier," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Of the adult cases, about 26 percent had asthma, 8 percent had some other chronic lung disease, 10 percent had diabetes, nearly 8 percent had weakened immune systems, and 6 percent were pregnant.

Not as much analysis has been completed on the children's cases, but health officials noted that 6 percent were kids with sickle-cell disease or another condition from the same family of blood diseases.

The new virus, first identified in April, is a global epidemic. The CDC doesn't have an exact count of all swine flu deaths and hospitalizations, but existing reports suggest more than 600 have died and more than 9,000 have been hospitalized. Health officials believe millions of Americans have caught the virus.

The virus is hitting young people harder. Experts believe older people are suffering from it less, perhaps because they have a bit of immunity from exposure over the years to somewhat similar viruses.

On Tuesday, Schuchat said that five additional pediatric swine-flu deaths have been reported since late last week, bringing to 81 the total count of U.S. children who have died with the infection.

States have ordered almost 6 million doses of swine flu vaccine in the vaccination campaign that started last week. About half the available doses are shots and half are the nasal spray version of the vaccine, Schuchat said.

We're told that washing your hands is the best way to keep from catching colds and flu.

But did you know hot water is not better than cold when it comes to removing germs?

Studies have shown that washing your hands in water that's 120 degrees doesn't kill any more germs or bacteria than water that's 40 degrees -- and hot water can increase the risk of contact dermatitis. 

So wash your hands in whatever temperature water feels comfortable, do it for at least 30 seconds, and use soap.

New research shows the current treatments for women who've had an early miscarriage don't affect their long-term fertility.

A just-published British study reveals 83 percent of women polled were able to get pregnant following popular miscarriage management methods, including surgery to remove tissue remaining in the uterus.

Now, many women are offered medical as well as "watch and wait" treatment.

This is reassuring news for many women, as roughly 15 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage in the first trimester.

ATLANTA (AP) - As the first wave of swine flu vaccine crosses the country, more than a third of parents don't want their kids vaccinated, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

Some parents say they are concerned about side effects from the new vaccine - even though nothing serious has turned up in tests so far - while others say swine flu doesn't amount to any greater health threat than seasonal flu.

Jackie Shea of Newtown, Conn., the mother of a 5-year-old boy named Emmett, says the vaccine is too new and too untested.

"I will not be first in line in October to get him vaccinated," she said in an interview last month. "We're talking about putting an unknown into him. I can't do that."

The AP poll found that 38 percent of parents said they were unlikely to give permission for their kids to be vaccinated at school.

The belief that the new vaccine could be risky is one federal health officials have been fighting from the start, and they plan an unprecedented system of monitoring for side effects.

They note that swine flu vaccine is made the same way as seasonal flu vaccines that have been used for years. And no scary side effects have turned up in tests on volunteers, including children.

On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appealed for widespread inoculation against swine flu, vouching unconditionally for the vaccine: "We know it's safe and secure."

The AP poll, conducted Oct. 1-5, found 72 percent of those surveyed are worried about side effects, although more than half say that wouldn't stop them from getting the vaccine to protect their kids from the new flu.

Giving flu shots to schoolchildren is also an idea many parents are still getting used to. It was only last year that the government recommendation kicked in for virtually all children to get it. Seasonal flu vaccination rates for children last year ranged from about 48 percent for toddlers to about 9 percent for teens.

It traditionally takes a while for parents to learn about and accept a new vaccine and years for immunization rates to grow, said Dr. Matthew Davis, a University of Michigan Medical School associate professor who has overseen polling on flu issues.

Special swine flu vaccination clinics at schools are being planned in many states. Children are the main spreaders of infectious disease, and if large numbers are coming down with swine flu, there are ripple effects for everyone else.

The AP poll found 59 percent are likely to let their kids be vaccinated at school. But the kind of concerns voiced by parents could put a dent in public health efforts.

A survey Davis directed for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Michigan suggested one reason for rejecting the vaccine is that about half of parents said they did not consider swine flu any worse than the seasonal bug.

"Basically, the swine flu is the flu. I'm not overly excited about it," said Julie Uehlein, a Tullahoma, Tenn., mother who is against swine flu vaccinations for her 8-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter.

"My concerns about the vaccine are what are the long-term effects," she added.

Some, like Shea, recall the 1976 swine flu immunization campaign that vaccinated 40 million Americans against an epidemic that never materialized. Worse, many who got the shots back then filed injury claims blaming health problems on the vaccine, with some reporting a paralyzing condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Health officials did not find evidence the vaccine caused the condition, noting it occurs naturally anyway and would be bound to show up in such a large group. Many people were unjustifiably blaming all sorts of health problems on the vaccine, some health experts believe.

That's why the government is already trying to educate people about how common many health problems are, and why it's handing out cards telling people how to report any side effects.

For some parents, fears are compounded by worries about thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that will be in roughly 60 percent of the 225 million swine flu doses ordered for Americans.

The preservative is not in the FluMist nasal spray, which can be given to healthy kids age 2 and older. But it's in many injectable doses, which are packaged in multi-dose vials that require thimerosal to prevent bacterial contamination.

Fears that the preservative or something in vaccines themselves can lead to autism remain entrenched in some quarters - despite no evidence from the most rigorous scientific studies.

Some autism advocacy groups echo parents' concerns about swine flu vaccine, and also argue it's a bad idea to spend so much time and money on the new flu.

"We're flipping out over swine flu, but it's only affected a few thousand people. Why isn't somebody freaking out about the autism epidemic?" said Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association.

Vaccine makers are sensitive to demand for preservative-free shots. Parents can ask their doctors to order preservative-free, single-dose vaccine for their kids, said Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

As for his own two school-age children, Frieden said in a recent interview: "I would have no hesitation about getting my kids vaccinated by thimerosal-containing vaccines."

Health officials and many parents are strong believers in the vaccine, and warn about the potential dangers of a virus that has caused at least 9,000 U.S. hospitalizations and at least 600 deaths, including 60 children.

Jennifer Barnes enrolled herself and her two children in one of the government studies of the new vaccine, seizing an opportunity to get them all immunized before the illness became widespread.

"I thought, 'This is an opportunity to get the kids vaccinated, and I better jump on it,"' said Barnes, 32, a speech language pathologist who lives in Decatur, Ga.

Barnes said she gets her kids vaccinated against flu each year not only for their own health but to protect others. "My kids hang around kids who might have lowered immune systems. I would hate for them to get something and pass it on," she said.

Shea said she appreciates those arguments, but she's hesitated to talk about swine flu vaccine with other parents, who seem polarized on the topic. "There's the crunchy granola group" against flu vaccinations, she said, "and the very staunch, follow everything group" who extol them.

She also worries that swine flu could become more widespread and dangerous than it is now. If that happens, she said, she would probably try to get her son vaccinated, though she's aware there are risks in waiting, too.

"It's one of those things where you're almost damned if you do, damned if you don't," she said.

The AP-GfK poll was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults age 18 or older, contacted by telephone on land lines and cell phones. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for all adults, 5.2 percentage points for parents.

A new study indicates some of the healthiest foods may also put us at the greatest risk for food-borne ailments.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest lists the top ten riskiest foods, and they include leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, which tops the list.

Eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries are also in the top ten.

The foods were rated based on the number of outbreaks associated with them since 1990. In all, the top 10 resulted in more than 1,500 outbreaks, totaling nearly 50,000 reported illnesses.

CLICK HERE to read the full report from the CSPI.

CHICAGO (AP) - Federal health officials say greater awareness, broader definitions and spotting autism in younger children may explain some of the increase in the proportion of children with disorders.

Two new government studies indicate about 1 in 100 children have autism disorders, higher than a previous estimate of 1 in 150.

Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, says the main concern is determining whether there's a "true increase" in the numbers.

The new estimate would mean about 673,000 American children have autism. Previous estimates put the number at about 560,000.

One of the studies stems from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. The results are in October's Pediatrics.

The other government estimate is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has not been formally released yet.

CLICK HERE to visit the CDC website and learn more about the symptoms of autism.

With the first doses of H1N1 vaccine set to arrive here next week, and talk of school clinics starting next month, a new survey finds many parents are wary about vaccinating their children.

A survey of parents finds 50 percent are concerned enough about the safety of the vaccine that they're delaying their decision whether to vaccinate their kids; 43 percent weren't worried about their children contracting H1N1. 

Thirty-five percent said they would definitely have their children vaccinated, and 14 percent have ruled out vaccination altogether. 

Children and young adults are the most vulnerable to severe illness and death from the new virus.

ATLANTA (AP) - Less than 10 percent of U.S. high school students are eating the combined recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, a finding that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called "poor" in a report Tuesday.

The report based on 2007 data found that only 13 percent of U.S. high school students get at least three servings of vegetables a day and just 32 percent get two servings of fruit. Less than 1 in 10 get enough of both combined.

Some states - including Arkansas and North Carolina - were significantly below those averages. But some New England states, particularly Vermont, were notably better.

The CDC said the report was the first to give such detailed information on adolescents' fruit and vegetable consumption. The information comes from a national survey of about 100,000 high school students in 2007.

CDC officials said the findings indicate a disheartening gap between how people should be eating and what they're actually doing in an era of rampant obesity.

Federal nutrition goals for 2010 call for at least 75 percent of Americans to eat two servings of fruit each day and at least 50 percent to eat three vegetable servings.

"This is a call for states, communities, schools and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption," said Heidi Blanck, a CDC senior scientist who worked on the report.

The CDC also released data on a survey of adults. It found fruit and vegetable consumption was basically unchanged from when a similar survey was done in 2005: About 27 percent got at least three servings of vegetables a day, and 33 percent got two servings of fruit.

People who participated in the survey were asked, essentially, how many times a day they had fruit or vegetables. Fruit juice counted but pieces of fruit are considered preferable, because they're more filling alternatives to fatty, processed snacks, Blanck said.

Vermont and other states that had higher rates of fruit and vegetable consumption also have more farmers markets per 100,000 people than the national average. And schools in those states were more likely to stock pieces of fruit in vending machines or at snack shops, Blanck said.

The report did not have numbers for every state. For twelve of them, high schooler survey samples were not considered large enough to provide a statistically reliable number.

On the Net:
CDC report: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/indicatorreport

Courtesy ABC News

The pain and numbness caused by carpal tunnel syndrome results in the highest number of days lost among all work-related injuries.  New research finds that surgery to relieve these symptoms is sometimes more effective than non-surgical treatment and should be recommended to those who do not find relief from these other treatments.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when inflammation in the wrist presses on the major nerve of the hand and causes chronic pain, numbness, and tingling in the wrist, hand, and fingers.  Carpal tunnel often affects those whose work requires repetitive hand motions, such as typing, and is a major cause of work-related disability.

A new study compared treating this syndrome with surgery with non-surgical hand therapy and ultrasound.  When researchers examined patients a year later, they found that those who had undergone surgery had modestly better outcomes in hand function and symptom reduction than those who had not.

Because the difference between surgical and non-surgical outcomes was modest, researchers point out that some patients may prefer to try non-surgical treatments before taking on the potential risks of surgery.  However, for those who have had little relief from hand therapy and ultrasound treatments, researchers felt that surgery should be recommended.

Courtesy ABC News

While those with heart disease have long been told to limit their salt intake, as this has been shown to raise blood pressure, new research suggests that a very high intake of sugar could also raise blood pressure and increase cholesterol.

A diet high in fructose, a dietary sugar present in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, may lead to higher blood pressure, new research shows. While fructose is also the main sugar in fruit, fruit contains vitamins and fiber that, in most cases, block the negative effects of this dietary sugar.

In the study, men took a daily pill that contained 200 grams of fructose, which is nearly three times the amount of fructose the average man consumes.

After only two weeks of this high-fructose diet, subjects showed significant increases in blood pressure and other symptoms thought to be precursors for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, such as higher fasting blood sugar levels and higher cholesterol.

While in the past, those at risk for heart disease have been advised to reduce their salt intake, as this can raise blood pressure, these findings suggest that sugar intake may have to be kept in check as well.

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The Food and Drug Administration is out with a warning Tuesday night, regarding those emergency response buttons worn around a person's neck -- there is an apparent chocking hazard associated with the product.

There are more than $750,000 people who use these so-called lifeline devices, in which the person who is in distress can press the button to call for emergency help.

There have been six reports of serious injury or death from 1998 to 2009.

The problem is when the cord from the device becomes entangled with other objects worn around the neck.

The FDA recommends that users consult their health care providers to determine which style of emergency button -- including those that are worn on the wrist -- is most beneficial for them.

LONDON (AP) - People with a genetic susceptibility to colon cancer could cut their chances of developing the disease in half by taking a daily dose of aspirin, researchers said Monday.

The finding might lead to other treatments by helping researchers understand how aspirin combats colon cancer, one of the top three cancers in rich countries.

Though aspirin has been used widely for years to treat minor aches and to alleviate fevers, it can irritate the stomach and intestines and cause major bleeding.

European researchers followed more than 1,000 people with Lynch syndrome, a genetic mutation that makes them vulnerable to cancers in the colon, rectum, stomach, brain, liver, womb and elsewhere. The syndrome accounts for about 5 percent of all colon cancers.

About half of the study participants were given 600 milligrams, or two aspirin pills daily, while the other half got placebo pills for about four years.

In the group that got aspirin, six people developed colon cancer, versus 16 in the group that got placebos. "We are delighted," said John Burn of Newcastle University in Britain, who led the study.

"All the more so because we stopped giving the aspirin after four years, yet the effect is continuing," he said in a statement.

Burn presented the study results Monday in Berlin at a joint meeting of the European Cancer Organisation and the European Society for Medical Oncology.

Experts said the finding would have no immediate impact on the general public.

"This doesn't mean that everyone should start taking aspirin if they're worried about bowel cancer," said Henry Snowcroft of Cancer Research United Kingdom.

"Aspirin can cause significant side effects if not used as directed by a doctor," Snowcroft said.

Previous studies have found patients who already have colon cancer and are being treated with chemotherapy and surgery may further reduce their risk of dying by up to 30 percent by taking aspirin. The cheap drug is also taken by millions of people worldwide to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

"If this is true, doctors should change how they treat their at-risk patients," said Alfred Neugut, of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who has done similar work but was not involved in the European study.

Scientists are still unsure exactly how aspirin fights cancer. For years, experts thought aspirin slows an enzyme called COX2 that has a role in tumor growth.

Based on his research, where patients did not benefit until several years after taking aspirin, Burn thinks the drug may also affect cancer stem cells. He hypothesized aspirin might speed up the process by which cells destroy themselves if they pick up "genetic spelling mistakes" that could be cancerous. That could result in a protective effect against cancer ever developing.

Other scientists were not convinced that stem cells were involved. "There's something weird going on here that's outside of what we normally see," Neugut said. "Reducing cancer is a wonderful thing, but there is something else going on here that we don't understand."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Studies of the new swine flu vaccine show children 10 and older will need just one shot for protection - but younger kids almost certainly will need two.

Protection kicks in for older children within eight to 10 days of the shot, just like it does for adults, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday.

But younger children aren't having nearly as robust an immune reaction to the swine flu vaccine, and it appears they'll need two shots 21 days apart, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

That's not a surprise, since the very young often need two doses of vaccine against regular winter flu the very first time they're immunized against that version of influenza, too, Fauci stressed.

"This is acting strikingly similar to seasonal flu" vaccine, Fauci said. "Overall, this is very good news for the vaccination program."

It means that most people in the U.S. will have to line up for influenza vaccinations twice this year instead of three times - once for the regular winter flu shot and a second time to be inoculated against swine flu, what doctors call the 2009 H1N1 strain.

But here's a twist: If a very young child happens to be getting their first-ever seasonal flu vaccination this year, that tot would need a total of four shots - two against regular flu and two against swine flu.

Once swine flu shots start arriving next month, it will be OK for kids - or people of any age - to get one in each arm on the same visit, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But doctors already have supplies of regular flu vaccine, and the CDC wants people to go ahead and get that first inoculation out of the way now.

"This is going to be a complicated flu season," Schuchat warned.

Also Monday, the U.S. ordered more swine flu vaccine, bringing its eventual total to 251 million doses, up from the long-planned 195 million doses. That's an ambitious undertaking for a country where fewer than 100 million people normally get a winter flu shot. The extra orders were from Sanofi Pasteur's Pennsylvania flu-shot factory and from Maryland-based MedImmune LLC, which makes a nasal-spray version.

The new swine flu seems no more deadly than regular winter flu, which every year kills 36,000 Americans and hospitalizes 200,000. But there's an important difference: This H1N1 strain sickens younger people more frequently than the over-65 population who are seasonal flu's main victims. So children are among the priority groups who are supposed to be first in line once swine flu vaccine starts arriving next month, and many schools around the country are expected to offer mass vaccinations.

To determine the right child dose, the NIH set up studies involving 600 children, from babies to teenagers.

About 76 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds showed strong protection after one H1N1 shot. That's similar to the protection seen with regular winter flu vaccine. It doesn't mean the rest didn't respond at all, just that they didn't have as strong a response, officials cautioned.

But just over a third of 3- to 9-year-olds showed strong protection from the swine flu shot, and only a quarter of babies and toddlers ages 6 months to 3 years, Fauci said.

That response was measured eight to 10 days after the shot, and flu protection usually builds over several weeks so the numbers could improve somewhat, he said. But he wasn't optimistic that the under-10 crowd would be able to skip the booster dose. Doubling the dose in the shot from a standard 15 micrograms of antigen to 30 micrograms didn't improve the response.

Younger children simply "don't have as mature an immune system," Fauci explained. So a first dose of vaccine against a flu strain they've never experienced acts as an introduction for their immune system, and a booster shortly thereafter revs up that immune response.

Side effects are no different from those with regular flu vaccine, such as redness and soreness at the injection site and occasional low fever or headache.

Monday's study didn't examine FluMist, the nasal-spray flu vaccine. The first 3.4 million doses of swine flu vaccine to be shipped early next month will be the FluMist version, which can be used by healthy people ages 2 to 49. But health officials said they expected young children to need two doses of FluMist as well.

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Most of us realize that smoking, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels can increase a person's chance of early death.

But a new study indicates just how many years these factors can shorten the life of a middle age male aged 50 and older. 

Researchers say the life expectancy of men who had all three of the major risk factors was cut by 10 years from the age of 50 compared to those who did not have the risk factors.

If they also had other risk factors, such as diabetes and excess weight, their life expectancy dropped by 15 years.

ATLANTA (AP) - One in three teenage girls have rolled up their sleeves for a vaccine against cervical cancer, but vaccination rates vary dramatically between states, according to a federal report released Thursday.

The highest rates were in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, where more than half of girls ages 13 through 17 got at least one dose of the three-shot vaccination. The lowest rates were in Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina, where fewer than 20 percent got at least one shot.

The report is the first to give state-by-state rates for Merck's Gardasil vaccine. It targets strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. It came on the market in 2006.

Health officials recommend that girls get the shots when they are 11 or 12, if possible, before they become sexually active so they have immunity before they are first infected. The shots are approved for females 9 through 26.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study involved a 2008 telephone survey of the parents of nearly 18,000 adolescents, who allowed researchers to check their kids' vaccination records.

Nationally, there was an increase in the percentage of teens ages 13 to 17 vaccinated against meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria and other illnesses. The agency also noted a rise since 2007 in the percentage of teenage girls who had gotten at least the first dose in the three-shot vaccination series against cervical cancer.

In 2007, about 25 percent had gotten a first dose of the vaccine. Last year, it rose to about 37 percent.

CDC study also found that the number of girls who got the whole three-dose series was only 18 percent and the rate was higher for white girls than for blacks or Hispanics.

Vaccine proponents had been hoping for higher vaccination rates, saying the shots could dramatically reduce the nearly 4,000 cervical cancer deaths that occur each year in the United States.

It's not clear why state vaccination rates vary so much, but several factors could be involved, said Dr. Melinda Wharton, an administrator of the CDC center that did the research.

Money is an issue. Retailing at $390 for the three-dose series, Gardasil is the most expensive childhood vaccine.

Many health insurers pay for the shots, but health officials noted variations in public insurance coverage. A federal program pays for certain children, including those who are uninsured or are in state Medicaid programs, but some states were slower to take advantage of it than others.

Also, it takes three trips to the doctor over six months to get all the shots, and some parents are unable or unwilling to take their kids to the doctor that often.

In South Carolina, many parents have said they are concerned about the safety of the vaccine or that they don't understand why a girl should get vaccinated before she's sexually active, said Heather Brandt, a University of South Carolina public health researcher.

"It's disturbing to see those states at the lower end of participation," she added. "Because those are states with some of the highest rates of cervical cancer."