Close to 4,000 women die of cervical cancer every year, a 10th of them in Texas. The human papillomavirus - which will infect more than half of sexually active people at some point in their lives - is the leading cause of the disease. A new vaccine, Merck's Gardasil, prevents almost all of the strains of HPV responsible for 70 percent of these cancer cases, as well as 90 percent of genital warts.
What's the harm, proponents ask, in requiring the vaccine for 11- and 12-year-old girls?
I don't see any.
"They're hitting two nerves: They're not only taking away parental rights, but they're talking about a vaccine against a purely sexually transmitted disease," said Linda Klepacki, a sexual health analyst for the evangelical group Focus on the Family. "Does the public health industry truly believe that all children and adolescents are sexually active? This is not something kids are going to contract sitting in the classroom."
It's probably safe to say that at some point in their lives the majority of kids will be sexually active, they deserve protection against HPV. And I find it horrifying that a supposedly Christian group would rather women get cervical cancer and die then receive the HPV vaccine.
The vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended for preteen girls seven months ago, has been tested in more than 11,000 young women over five years with no serious side effects. Perry's HPV mandate - the first in the nation - allows anyone to opt out of the inoculation for personal or religious reasons.
It's been tested, there are no serious side effects and there is an opt out, so whats the problem?
2 comments:
I think that a lot of people are concerned that it's only been tested for 5 years. If a girl gets the shot at 12, who's to say that when she starts being sexually active at 18 that the vaccine will still be effective. And of the amount of women in the testing, a very small percentage were teenagers or preteens whereas that is the age group that they are targeting for the vaccination.
I just read today that the average age of detection for cervical cancer in this country is 47. That would mean that they got the virus at 27 (allowing for the maximum incubation period of 20 years). How is a vaccine that they received when they were 12 going to help them when they are 27. How often will they need to get boosters? Will it be another series of 3 shots or just one shot like Tetanus? If it's the boys/men that they are giving the virus to these women shouldn't they should be vaccinated too?
The final thing is that WORLD-WIDE there is a high death rate from cervical cancer (still a drop in the bucket compared to other cancers) but in this country, where women get regular gyno care, the women dying of cervical cancer (2,000 to 3,000 anually) are almost exclusively poor women that do not receive regular medical care (ie pap smears). If every woman who was sexually active got a pap smear every year then cervical cancer would be eliminated (according to my OB/GYN). A Class 2 pap usually leads to a retest then a biopsy and if that is positive for precancerous cells then cryosurgery is done, the problem is taken care of.
From what I understand the reason they want to make it mandatory is so that low-income women who don't get yearly pap smears would be able to get the HPV vaccine.
A better alternative might be to provide free pap smears.
If I had daughters I would probably opt out until more was known but make sure they understood the importance of pap smears.
I also don't think the vaccine works on boys or men. At least I haven't seen any information indicating it does.
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